PC World reports on the European Commission's announcement this week that it will refer Austria to the Court of Justice due to its lack of an independent data protection authority. The commission has been reviewing the EU's 1995 Data Protection Directive and has thus far taken Luxembourg and Germany to court for noncompliance. The result of Germany's case noted that those bodies responsible for supervising personal data processing must remain free from any external influence, the report states. However, the commission believes this is not the case in Austria due to the Federal Chancellery's supervision of the data protection authority and the fact that the authority does not have its own staff or budget.
Full Story