Neither the letter, i.e. the legal basis, nor, more importantly, the spirit of the way in which the burgeoning e-commerce industry is developing and the speed with which it is spreading augur well for the protection of citizens' personal data and privacy; on the contrary, they give cause for serious, widespread concern as regards both the decimation and restructuring of commerce and the market itself and the intensification of efforts to abolish civil rights, make citizens slaves to technology and the savage laws of the capitalist market and turn their personal lives and their very existence into cheap, malleable raw materials to generate profits. The application of technological innovations, especially the innovations made during the impressive and rapid development of the information society, will cut right through the fabric of society. The dangers of misuse which lie in ambush behind the huge potential which is developing should encourage and oblige us to be vigilant when it comes to ensuring that the human factor and respect for citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms come first. New applications and technology cannot be stopped, but nor should they be allowed to develop with no regard for man and his needs, and under no circumstances should they be used to undermine political values and human dignity or to attack basic and inalienable rights such as the sanctity of privacy and personal data. The proposals and policies for electronic commerce and the measures being promoted to support it are coloured by the totally one-dimensional perception of profit and competitiveness. This policy is being driven by the huge and constantly inflating sums of money being invested in and thrown at e-commerce in order to serve the needs of the big multinationals in the sector and remove any obstacles which prevent them from adapting as quickly as possible to the rapid developments on this market and acquiring huge, fast profits and influence. The proposed Community model behind the EU's texts and proposals is supported by and vigorously supports unadulterated competition and unbridled, excessive profit. This perception is not a guarantee for, it is a blatant threat to the future of society and mankind: uncertainty, insecurity, a breach with man's own needs, categorisation of citizens and workers who will no longer shape their environment but will be shaped by it in order to serve those who define it in the best, fastest and cheapest way possible. As far as we can see, the term “adequate protection” as used in the report means the continuous and arbitrary definition and distortion of the concept of the protection of personal data, given that sanctions and compensation for breaching doors which are already wide open are advocated as deterrents and safety valves. Personal data on EU citizens is already circulating in third countries, without any fundamental control; in fact we barely even know the extent of the arbitrary acts already committed. Knowing as we do from the Echelon interception system that every form of democratic control is being flagrantly violated from without or from a distance, knowing that American multinationals are engaged in wholesale monitoring and spying at the expense of European undertakings and the economic, social, political and cultural activities of the Member States and the private life of the Union citizens as a whole, it is slightly hypocritical of us to approach this huge issue in stockinged feet with our prayer-book in hand. The current protective framework and the proposed standard contractual clauses are inadequate in the extreme, riddled with holes and inefficient. You cannot appeal to good intentions for doleful competition and a profit monocracy. We would only dare call the snake pit of unaccountable monopolies which find it easy to spring up, spread and act with impunity in cyberspace ‘safe harbours’ euphemistically.

Political group: GUE-NGL