OCU asks for absolute control by users over their personal data

OCU is starting the campaign "Your data is yours" to get citizens to become the true owners of their personal data, during the negotiations that are taking place between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council for the adoption of  Data Protection Regulation.
 
OCU’s aim is that consumers get full control over their personal data, data that is used increasingly by companies and governments. For this reason, OCU has launched this campaign through its Movilízate (“Get Mobilised”) platform, asking consumers to join in and back a series of claims that need to be fulfilled, if they want guarantees about control over their own data.

OCU points out that, currently, companies are making good money out of the personal information of consumers without them receiving any compensation for this. Therefore we believe that, since consumers receive nothing for the use of the data, at least they should be able to exercise effective control over it.  In order for this to happen, OCU wants:

• The right to personal data portability, so you may transfer your personal data from one company to another without the first company being able to prevent this by claiming that your data, once on their servers, belongs to them.

• The obligation for companies to have user consent to collect and process their data, consent that must be informed, specific, free and revocable at any time.

• The user's right to know what data is collected and what it is collected for, effectively prohibiting companies from using the personal information collected for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

• The right of users to be notified about any violation of their personal data, regardless of whether it is a major or minor violation, as well as to denounce the violation quickly, effectively and cheaply. For this to happen, the consumer has to be able to complain to the authorities of their own country or to the country of origin of the company that has violated their data.

In addition, OCU has sent a letter to the Minister of Justice asking him to defend the text initially proposed by the European Parliament in forthcoming meetings between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission, since we consider that this text is the most suitable for ensuring that consumers have control over their data.

For more information (media) Tel 917 226 061 Eva Jimenez prensa@ocu.org -. www.ocu.org