The CNPD and the SnT conclude a partnership agreement for joint research on the protection of personal data

The Luxembourgish Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données (CNPD, National Commission for Data Protection) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) of the University of Luxembourg have concluded a contract for strategic partnership. Together they will launch a joint research programme, which will deal with the new developments of the European data privacy laws, the new technological challenges like e.g. cloud computing, the implications for Luxembourg, and solutions for privacy security in a globalised world.

The protection of personal data plays an increasing role, internationally but also and especially in Luxembourg. Compliance with legislation is becoming more and more important for different actors. The rapidly changing technological as well as legal developments in this field require knowledge from private companies and public authorities in order to ensure that their activities in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) are in line with applicable law. They need legal and technical expertise to keep in pace with the developing environment in which new applications and services usually come parallel with new challenges from a legal perspective. The joint work of CNPD and SnT will contribute, due to its conceptual analysis and identification of critical aspects, to a global and future-oriented research approach. Special focus will be laid upon the implications of the above-mentioned developments for the actors in Luxembourg.

As the national monitoring authority, the CNPD supervises the compliance of private and public actors with data protection legislation. It deals with requests and complaints of citizens and gives opinions on legislative proposals. In their deliberations and investigations, legal and technical questions become primordial. The SnT conducts scientific research in the framework of ICT services such as communication networks and software systems to improve the security and reliability of such systems as well as the trust in them by the users. The compliance of these systems with data protection legislation is therefore often a critical element of different projects at the SnT. CNPD and SnT will bring together these fields of expertise in their strategic partnership.

It is essential to understand new European Union legislation initiatives in the field of data protection early and analyse their implications. What seemed sufficient in 1995 is outdated in view of current online applications such as social networks, which is why the framework is currently under review. Therefore, the concerned legislation is the subject matter of an amendment on a European level. The new regulations will then not only have to be implemented in Luxembourgish law, they will require accompanying research into the effects they will have both for the actual use of private data as well as consequences for the supervising authority. A further example of common interest of CNPD and SnT concerns the compatibility of cloud computing and data privacy. The increased use of cloud computing to process personal data raises legal and technical challenges. The combination of the interdisciplinary work of CNPD and SnT will improve the understanding of the technical and regulatory aspects of cloud computing and the special significance for Luxembourg.

“Frequently in the past years, new services like Google Street View, that were established on fairly short notice, posed real challenges for the current legislative framework and required a rapid response in how to deal with these services,” says SnT director Prof. Björn Ottersten. CNPD president Gérard Lommel adds that “our common research program will deal with the fundamental issues of data protection in a modern technological environment. Our findings will contribute to raise public awareness and help coming up with solutions “made in Luxembourg” that can serve as examples on how to handle new challenges in this field very early.”

About SnT

Launched in 2009 by the University of Luxembourg, SnT is an internationally leading research facility that together with external partners establishes Luxembourg as a European centre of excellence and innovation for secure, reliable, and trustworthy information and communications technologies (ICT). To create great impact, SnT follows an interdisciplinary research approach, taking not only technical aspects into account but also addressing business, human, and regulatory issues. SnT provides a platform for interaction and collaboration between university researchers and external partners.

About CNPD

Luxembourg's national data protection agency (Commission nationale pour la protection des données, CNPD) was set up under the Law of 2 August 2002 to verify the legality of the processing of personal data and ensure the respect of personal freedoms and fundamental rights with regard to privacy. It issues recommendations, advises on draft legislation and regulatory measures, deals with complaints and requests to examine the legality of processing of data and approves sectorial codes of conduct. As a monitoring authority, it can investigate, adopt administrative sanctions or initiate court action. Its mission also extends to ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Law of 30 May 2005 regarding the specific rules for the protection of privacy in the sector of electronic communications, which includes new information, communication and internet technologies.