European Data Supervisor Releases Annual Report, Warns US on Bulk Collection

European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli released the 2018 EDPS annual report. Among recent accomplishments are the 2018 Conference on Digital Ethics, adoption of an EU-Japanese data transfer deal, and implementation of the GDPR. At a press conference for the report's release, Buttarelli also recommended that the United States enact a federal privacy law, ratify the Council of Europe Privacy, Convention, and resolve long-standing concerns about mass surveillance. "In my opinion, bulk collection as such is not fully compatible with our system," Buttarelli said. EPIC has long recommended that the United States ratify the International Privacy Convention. EPIC has also proposed changes to Section 702 of the Patriot Act, which permits the bulk collection of the personal data of Europeans.