LONDON: That of the European Union data protection watchdog called for stronger on Wednesday privacy guarantees in draft EU legislation supporting a digital euro.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will soon say it will make further preparations for a digital euro, one of many central banks around the world looking to stay ahead of technological advances in payments.
The European Commission has proposed a draft law that would give a legal basis to the digital euro, but consumers are concerned it will displace cash and allow authorities to track spending.
The passage of the bill has been delayed to allow more time to address concerns that the digital euro will lack the anonymity of cash for low-value transactions.
The European Data Protection Council (EDPB) said on Wednesday that it “strongly recommended” adding to the draft law a privacy threshold for online transactions using the digital euro “where neither offline nor low-value online transactions are tracked for the purpose of combating money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.”
The draft law should also “further clarify” the data protection responsibilities of the ECB and payment service providers (PSPs).
“This includes the legal bases on which the ECB and the PSP must rely, and the types of personal data they must process for the issuance, distribution and use of the digital euro,” the EDPB said.
The board said it is very pleased that users of digital euros will always have the choice to pay in digital euros or cash.
“A high standard of privacy and data protection plays a major role in citizens’ trust in this new digital currency,” said Irene Loizidou Nicolaidou, Vice-President of the EDPB.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will soon say it will make further preparations for a digital euro, one of many central banks around the world looking to stay ahead of technological advances in payments.
The European Commission has proposed a draft law that would give a legal basis to the digital euro, but consumers are concerned it will displace cash and allow authorities to track spending.
The passage of the bill has been delayed to allow more time to address concerns that the digital euro will lack the anonymity of cash for low-value transactions.
The European Data Protection Council (EDPB) said on Wednesday that it “strongly recommended” adding to the draft law a privacy threshold for online transactions using the digital euro “where neither offline nor low-value online transactions are tracked for the purpose of combating money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.”
The draft law should also “further clarify” the data protection responsibilities of the ECB and payment service providers (PSPs).
“This includes the legal bases on which the ECB and the PSP must rely, and the types of personal data they must process for the issuance, distribution and use of the digital euro,” the EDPB said.
The board said it is very pleased that users of digital euros will always have the choice to pay in digital euros or cash.
“A high standard of privacy and data protection plays a major role in citizens’ trust in this new digital currency,” said Irene Loizidou Nicolaidou, Vice-President of the EDPB.
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