[…] Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, and EU Justice Commissioner, […] said: […] This is why I warn against bringing data protection to the [TTIP] trade talks. Data protection is not red tape or a tariff. It is a fundamental right and as such it is not negotiable. […]
The European Parliament has no power to demand that data protection be removed from TTIP, so instead the [Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)] committee committee wants to apply some pressure indirectly. […]
However, the US has been adamant that data protection must be included in TTIP: that’s because all the most powerful US Internet companies – Google, Microsoft, Facebook etc. – need it so that they can continue to take data about European citizens out of Europe and use it as they wish. They do this currently under the so-called Safe Harbour scheme, which is, in fact, not very safe for Europeans […].
http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2014/02/ttip-update-xv/index.htm