Snowden argues EU’s GDPR is too weak for preventing privacy abuses

Speaking at a keynote session at the annual Web Summit in Lisbon, Edward Snowden characterized the EU’s GDPR as a “paper tiger”. Commenting on the legislation, he argued that “the problem isn’t data protection” but data collection. “Regulating protection of data presumes that the collection of data in the first place was proper, that it was appropriate and that it doesn’t represent a threat or danger. That it’s okay to spy on your customers or your citizens so long as it never leaks, so long as only you are in control of what it is.”