(04/10/06) Datatransfers SWIFT: blijkbaar geen waarborgen ter vrijwaring burgerlijke vrijheden

• 2006-10-04

Door financiële en andere gevoelige informatie over te maken aan de VS overtreedt SWIFT (*) de EU-regeling mbt. de bescherming van gegevens. Zelfs al is de regelgeving in de VS zwakker.

Geen enkele betrokkene wil de verantwoordelijkheid hiervan op zich nemen. Niet de Europese Centrale Bank, niet de Nationale Banken (die op de hoogte waren van deze transfers) noch SWIFT zelf, dat handelde zonder medeweten van zijn klanten. Op wie kunnen EU-burgers dan rekenen om hun burgerlijke vrijheden te vrijwaren?

Natuurlijk moet de VS (financiële) informatie kunnen krijgen over terroristische organisaties, maar dit geeft hen geen carte blanche. Er is tussen de EU en de VS dringend nood aan een gezamenlijke rechtsgrond voor de gegevensoverdracht die rekening houdt met de rechten van de EU-burgers.

(*) SWIFT is een coöperatieve die in handen is van de financiële sector. De hoofdopdracht van het bedrijf is het versturen van informatie tussen financiële instellingen.

SWIFT revelations raise serious questions over the guarantee of EU data protection law



In the context of today's joint hearing of the EP Civil Liberties and Economic and Monetary Affairs Committees on the transfer of EU citizens' bank data to the US secret services by SWIFT, German Green MEP Cem Özdemir said:

"The transfer by Belgian-based business SWIFT of its customers' bank and other sensitive financial data to the US secret services is clearly in conflict with EU data protection law. SWIFT has claimed that it was merely complying with a US-issued subpoena by transferring the data but, in transferring the information to a jurisdiction with inferior data protection laws, it was disregarding the applicable EU laws.

"One disturbing fact, which was made clear at today's hearing, is that none of the involved parties is willing to take responsibility for the failure to protect the rights of EU citizens: neither the ECB and national central banks, which were aware of the data transfers, nor SWIFT, which passed on the private information of its customers without their knowledge. Who then can EU citizens rely on to ensure that the US secret services do not just ride rough-shod over their civil liberties?

"Clearly, the US administration should be able to access bank and financial information of suspected terrorists but this should not be interpreted as a carte blanche to disregard European data protection laws. With multi-nationals operating across different jurisdictions, there is a grey area as regards what legislation should apply when data protection conflicts arise. For this reason, there is an urgent need for the EU and the US to agree a common legal basis on the transfer of data, which upholds the existing rights of EU citizens."