The Slovenian parliament passed a bill implementing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into national law as the last country in the bloc to do so.
The legislation, which was passed on Thursday, was drafted under the previous government but slightly changed by the new cabinet. Among other things, a provision under which personal data protection is a human right has been added.
While there was broad-based support for the law, there was some dissent from the opposition, which complained about administrative overreach.
The Democratic Party, the senior partner in the previous coalition government, argued there was too much emphasis on protecting the interests of the state rather than those of individuals. They also argued it would give the Information Commissioner “absolute power”.
Their former coalition partners, the New Slovenia, raised concerns over administrative excess for businesses, such as an obligation to keep a log of personal data processing. They were the only party to vote against.
The Information Commissioner remains in charge of oversight, however certain areas are exempt from checks, such as the judiciary and intelligence and security services.
EU members were supposed to implement the GDPR by mid-2018, and the European Commission has alerted Slovenia of its failure to do so several times.
(Sebastijan R. Maček | sta.si)
Source: euractiv.com
