EDPS - European Data Protection Supervisor

*** Fireside chat at Defence24 Days *** Yesterday, Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski took part in a fireside chat with Mirosław Wróblewski, President of the Polish Data Protection Authority (UODO), at Defence24 Days, the largest conference in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to defence and security. They discussed the growing threat of hackers in the health data sector, cooperation between data protection and cybersecurity authorities, and the future challenges and expectations for DPAs.

*** 4th AI Act Correspondents Network Meeting *** The EDPS - European Data Protection Supervisor is holding today the fourth meeting of the #AIAct Correspondents. The network brings together correspondents from all EU institutions, bodies and agencies, and functions as a forum for cooperation and fostering a common understanding of topics on AI governance. Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski welcomed participants to the meeting, which this time focuses on the transparency of AI systems, the EDPS AI regulatory sandbox pilot project and the EDPS Compass for AI. The Secretary General Leonardo Cervera-Navas took the stage to deliver the opening remarks. He reported on the appreciation expressed by the Secretaries General of the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in response to the establishment of the network and its activities. #AI #Governace #Sandboxes #Regulation

*** Blogpost: A safeguard and a vulnerability ***    A human in the loop is not always the same as a human in control.     Marking European Cybersecurity Month, the European Data Protection Supervisor, Wojciech Wiewiorowski, writes on two aspects of the human factor in digital security.     In cybersecurity, the human is usually the vulnerability ⚠️. Users might click the wrong link, attach a document by mistake or feed personal data fed into an AI tool that their organisation has not approved. Human error remains the most common cause of the personal data breaches notified to the EDPS, including those resulting from cyberattacks.     However, when automated systems are making decisions that affect people's lives, 🛡️ human oversight is often held up as the chief safeguard. But this relies on the right training and structure. An analyst buried in alerts is vulnerable to automation bias, while a flawed system could overlook a real cyberattack.     🎯 What people need is the same in both cases: the right training, good information, the time to review and the authority to act.     Read the blogpost: https://lnkd.in/eBGARPkP   #CyberSecMonth #ECSM 

*** Are we underestimating the economic value of privacy? *** "For a decade, the debate has focused on what data protection costs, with little attention to what it is worth". At an event organised by BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation, Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski delivered closing remarks welcoming efforts to make a change. He recalled the EDPS's long-standing position that personal data is not a currency and that a fundamental right cannot be treated as a commodity, a position the EDPS has held from its 2017 Opinion on digital content contracts to its recent Opinion on the proposed Digital Networks Act. "The question is not whether we can afford privacy. It is whether we have ever properly counted what we lose without it," Wojciech Wiewiorowski said. 📃 Read the full speech here: https://lnkd.in/eHFug9EZ

*** Keynote speech at the 2nd High-Level Roundtable on Equality Data *** Counting inequality is the first step to tackling it, provided the data is collected responsibly. Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski delivered a keynote speech at the 2nd High-Level Roundtable on Equality Data, organised by the European Commission with the support of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026. The event brought together policymakers, equality bodies, statistical offices, civil society, academics and EU institutions. He welcomed the forthcoming Council Recommendation on equality data collection, but urged participants not to let it become the finish line. The Supervisor outlined six principles for a future framework: legal legitimacy, meaningful participation, robust data protection safeguards, purpose limitation and proportionality, algorithmic accountability, and equity in access. He also underlined that data protection is not an obstacle to legitimate policy objectives, but the foundation on which they can be pursued with public confidence. "The absence of equality data does not make discrimination disappear. It makes it invisible, unmeasurable, and therefore difficult to challenge in court, in policy, or in public debate." Wojciech Wiewiorowski said.

*** In your inbox: the EDPS Newsletter, with a raft of new opinions and a look at emerging tech ***     Welcome to the latest edition of #EDPS Newsletter. Since last time, we have published 13 opinions, formed a new partnership with the European Law Institute and taken a closer look at two technologies that will shape data protection in the years to come.     Read and get informed on:     🧮 A new TechDispatch on secure multi-party computation, the cryptography that lets organisations compute a shared result without ever seeing each other's data. The report explores what this means for compliance.     🔐 The leap to post-quantum data protection, the focus of our latest IPEN event, co-hosted with the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. Quantum computers may still be years away, but data stored today could be decrypted later.     🤝 Our new institutional membership of the European Law Institute (ELI) Institute, signed in Paris by Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski and ELI President Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell.     ⚖️ Three opinions on the European Commission's package of reforms in justice and home affairs, covering Europol's processing of operational data, the modernisation of Eurojust, and a targeted revision of the data protection rules for the EU institutions.     📋 And plenty more, including 10 further opinions spanning cloud infrastructure, ecommerce, tax administration, fisheries, electricity bills, the chemical precursors to illegal drugs, and the rules on genetically modified micro-organisms.     Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eaj9YU83  And subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/eGZkh5M2 

*** Meeting with the Philippine Privacy Commissioner *** Today, Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski welcomed Johann Carlos S. Barcena, Privacy Commissioner of the Philippines. The courtesy visit gave the EDPS the opportunity to present its main missions: ☑️ supervising the EU administration's processing of personal data to ensure compliance with privacy rules ☑️ advising EU institutions and bodies on all aspects of personal data processing and related policies and legislation ☑️ working with the national authorities of EU countries to ensure consistency in data protection, with EDPB Secretariat staff provided by the EDPS ☑️ acting as market surveillance authority for EU institutions and bodies under the AI Act The discussion also covered the upcoming Global Privacy Assembly (GPA) Conference, whose Secretariat is provided by the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines.

Today, at the European Parliament in Brussels, the Secretaries-General of EU institutions met for the third time to continue their dialogue on AI governance. Since the launch of the working lunches in 2024 by the EDPS Secretary-General Leonardo Cervera-Navas, this forum has become a valuable space for cooperation, reflection and concrete action. The discussions have already led to important steps forward: from supporting the establishment of the AI Act Correspondents Network, to widening access to AI literacy resources for staff across all EU institutions and improving our collective understanding of AI systems in use through coordinated reporting and mapping efforts. The need for a shared vision on AI governance is greater than ever. Today’s meeting was an excellent opportunity to deepen cooperation at the most senior level of European public administration and to reinforce interinstitutional alignment on responsible and effective AI governance.

*** Global AI Privacy Forum 2026 & INTA Monitoring Group on data protection of EU-Korea Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) ***   Today, Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiorowski took part in the Global AI Privacy Forum 2026, hosted by the Personal Information Protection Commission(PIPC), Republic of Korea under the theme "Privacy for Innovation, Partnership for Cooperation". He joined the special session "Readiness Powered by Cooperation", which focused on practical capacity building for privacy regulators facing rapidly evolving AI, with particular attention to emerging and developing data protection authorities. The Supervisor stressed that capacity building is a precondition for effective AI supervision. Authorities need to share legal and technical expertise and operational tools, and to pool their limited human, technical and financial resources. For the EDPS, this is a practical question: it combines its role as data protection authority for the EU institutions with new responsibilities under the AI Act. Capacity building should be at the centre of international cooperation. "No DPA needs to develop every capability alone. Particularly in AI, where technologies and providers operate across borders, building regulatory capacity also means building networks through which expertise can travel." Wojciech Wiewiorowski said. On the same day, the Supervisor took part in the European Parliament's Committee of International Trade (INTA) Monitoring Group meeting on the data protection aspects of the EU-Korea Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) where he recalled the EDPS role in advising the co-legislators not only on proposals for new EU legislation, but also on international agreements. The EDPS was consulted twice on the EU-Korea DTA: in 2023, upon the opening of negotiations, and in 2025, in relation to the conclusion and signing of the Agreement. "Our Opinions on the EU-Korea DTA recall that the protection of personal data is a fundamental right in the EU and cannot be subject to negotiations in the context of EU trade agreements". Wojciech Wiewiorowski noted.