This year, the Council of Europe is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data, known as «Convention 108».
This Convention is a cornerstone of privacy and personal data protection in Europe since its opening for signature on 28 January 1981. It has been ratified by 43 member states of the Council of Europe and is open for signature by any country in the world.
The aim of the fifth annual Data Protection Day that will be celebrated on 28 January 2011 is to give European citizens the chance to understand what personal data is collected and processed about them and why, and what their rights are with respect to this processing, with EU countries set to organize a series of events celebrating Data Protection Day.
On this occasion the Council of Europe is organising in Brussels, together with the European Commission, a joint high level meeting to allow to both institutions to join forces and promote the fundamental right to data protection. The event on 28 January 2011 will mark the beginning of a public consultation launched with the aim of modernising “Convention 108”.
