Agreement reached for international privacy standards

A number of experts from dozens of countries have reached an agreement regarding the urgency for protection of privacy and personal data on the internet.

The document, drafted in Madrid, dictates that data should only be processed after obtaining the “free, unambiguous and informed consent” of the subjects of that data, and it should be deleted when no longer necessary.

Additionally, the document states that international transfers of personal data should only be processed to a country which “affords, as a minimum, the level of protection provided for in the document”.

“This agreement was reached with the active participation and support of civil society and industry,” the head of the Spanish Data Protection Agency, Artemi Rallo Lombarte, said in a statement.

Many of the delegates said they hope the draft will become the basis for a universal piece of legislation regarding the use of personal data across the world.