The European Parliament on Wednesday voted to hand the EU’s police agency new powers to gather and use data, provoking an angry response from privacy activists.
The chamber overwhelmingly approved a proposal that allows Europol to work more closely with non-EU governments and share personal information with private companies.
The European Union said the new regime was needed to help coordinate the fight against terrorism, child sex abuse and other serious crimes.
But activists warned that oversight was too weak and the reforms would turn the police agency into a “data black hole”.
[ Read: Europe’s Hypocrisy Over Personal Data Privacy Exposed ]
“Europol will be allowed to collect and share data left, right, and centre without much restriction or control,” said Chloe Berthelemy of the NGO European Digital Rights.
The group, along with a coalition of other NGOs, said the reforms created serious risks of violations of the right to a fair trial, privacy and data protection, non-discrimination and freedom of expression.
The European Commission had argued the new powers were needed because terrorists often used private companies to recruit, and insisted the reforms would respect fundamental rights.
A European Parliament statement stressed that people would be able “to consult personal data related to them” and oversight would come from a new post of Fundamental Rights Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.
The regulation was “a substantial leap forward in the capabilities of the agency”, said rapporteur Javier Zarzalejos following the vote, which was carried with 480 MEPs in favour and 143 against.
Related: US, EU Sign Data Transfer Deal to Ease Privacy Concerns
Related: GDPR Fines Surged Sevenfold to $1.25 Billion in 2021: Study
Related: European Police Pounce After Cracking Crime Chat Network
Related: Facebook, GDPR and Max Schrems – Under the Hood of GDPR Legal Processes
Related: Austrian Regulator Says Google Analytics Contravenes GDPR

More from AFP
- ‘Grim’ Criminal Abuse of ChatGPT is Coming, Europol Warns
- US Charges 20-Year-Old Head of Hacker Site BreachForums
- Spain Needs More Transparency Over Pegasus: EU Lawmakers
- Huawei Has Replaced Thousands of US-Banned Parts With Chinese Versions: Founder
- Poland Breaks up Russian Spy Ring
- Facebook ‘Unlawfully’ Used Dutch Personal Data: Court
- White House Cybersecurity Strategy Stresses Software Safety
- Internet Access, Privacy ‘Essential for Freedom’: Proton Chief
Latest News
- Anti-Bot Software Firm DataDome Banks $42M Financing
- Unpatched Security Flaws Expose Water Pump Controllers to Remote Hacker Attacks
- 500k Impacted by Data Breach at Debt Buyer NCB
- Chinese Cyberspies Use ‘Melofee’ Linux Malware for Stealthy Attacks
- Why Endpoint Resilience Matters
- Microsoft Cloud Vulnerability Led to Bing Search Hijacking, Exposure of Office 365 Data
- 3CX Confirms Supply Chain Attack as Researchers Uncover Mac Component
- UK Introduces Mass Surveillance With Online Safety Bill
