mHealth - what is it and do I want it?

There are nearly 100,000 mHealth #apps already available across multiple platforms such as iTunes, Google play, Windows Marketplace, BlackBerry World. The top 20 free sports, fitness and health apps already account for 231 million downloads worldwide. 
By 2017, 3.4 billion people worldwide will own a smartphone and half of them will be using mHealth apps. In 2017, if its potential is fully unlocked, mHealth could save €99 billion in healthcare costs in the EU.
 
The Commission is launching a public consultation on the Green Paper on mobile health, inviting comments on the barriers and issues related to the use of mHealth. Your input will help identify the right way forward to unlock the potential of mobile health in the EU. The Commission also publishes a Staff Working Document on the existing EU legal framework applicable to lifestyle and wellbeing apps, aiming at providing simple guidance to app developers on EU legislation in the field.

The Public consultation on the Commission's Green Paper on mobile health is open until July 2014!

the new EC data protection reform - the right to be forgotten on social networks!

Three quarters of Europeans think that the disclosure of personal data is an increasing part of modern life. At the same time, 72% of Internet users are worried that they give away too much personal data online. They feel they do not have complete control of their data.

The Commission is proposing a strengthened right to be forgotten so that if you no longer want your personal data to be processed, and there is no legitimate reason for an organization to keep it, it must be removed from their system. Data controllers must prove that they need to keep the data rather than you having to prove that collecting your data is not necessary.

What will be the key changes?

• Strengthening the ‘right to be forgotten’ to help people better manage data protection risks online. When individuals no longer want their data to be processed and there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it, the data will be deleted. The rules are about empowering people, not about erasing past events or restricting the freedom of the press.
• Guarantee easy access to your own data.
• Establishing a right for individuals to freely transfer personal data from one service provider to another (data portability).
• Ensuring that individuals must give consent explicitly when it is required for certain types of data processing.
• Increasing the responsibility and accountability of those processing data by introducing data protection officers for companies over 250 employees, and the principles of ‘privacy by default’ and ‘privacy by design’ to ensure that individuals are informed in an easily understandable way about how their data will be processed.

In January 2013 the EC proposed a comprehensive reform of the data protection rules.

The European Parliament last week cemented the strong support previously given at committee level to the European Commission's data protection reform (MEMO/13/923 and MEMO/14/60) by voting in plenary with 621 votes in favour and 10 against.

European Union start surveilling the US surveillance programmes!

The European Parliament started the fight against the American spying practices (e.g. PRISM) and passed this week a resolution to investigate the (in)compatibility of these programmes with the EU law.

The resolution includes multiple directions:

• Civil Liberties Committee inquiry
• Protecting whistleblowers
• Suspend air passenger and bank data deals?
• Trade talks should not undermine data protection
• Stronger data safeguards urgently needed

Read more on EP press release.

PS: oare si blogul asta este urmarit?

the truth is out there...

European Data Protection Day - 28 January 2013

On 28 January 2013, 47 countries countries of the Council of Europe as well as European institutions, agencies and bodies will celebrate the seventh European Data Protection Day - "because your personal information is precious" !!!

This date marks the anniversary of the Council of Europe Convention 108 on the protection of personal information, the first legally binding international instrument related to the field of data protection.

This special day is promoted by EDPS (European Data Protection Supervisor) = an independent supervisory authority devoted to protecting personal data and privacy and promoting good practice in the EU institutions and bodies.

Aveti grija si nu mai partajati date cum ar fi (nume, adresa, telefon, varsta, venit, loc de nastere, numele tuturor copiiilor, al bunicilor, numarul de la pantofi sau altele) pe toate siteurile sau prin nu stiu ce formulare...nu va ajuta cu nimic si mai devreme sau mai tarziu cineva poate le va folosi impotriva voastra...