The European Parliament today backed a package of measures designed to bring Europe's data protection laws into the 21st Century. It involves two elements - one covering the processing of personal data by industry and government and a second covering data used by police and criminal justice authorities. The data protection package has been voted alongside the Passenger Name Record Directive, which aims to regulate the transfer of passenger data from the airlines to the Member States' law enforcement authorities. A development welcomed by the S&D Group although they warn it is not a silver bullet.
 
Interviews with Claude Moraes, EP Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and with Marju Lauristin, EP Rapporteur on the processing of personal data for the purpose of crime prevention.