Data confidentiality and protection
Data Confidentiality
Confidentiality requirements apply to data reported under both the ODS and the F-Gas Regulation. Article 27.8 and Article 19.8 respectively stipulate "The Commission shall take appropriate steps to protect the confidentiality of the information submitted to it." The European Environment Agency, who is the key actor in the compilation of the company-reports, will use the following approach to protect the data confidentiality:
- only aggregated data will be published, which also contain information on specific substances and uses;
- no information on the content of the report submitted by an individual producer, importer or exporter will be divulged;
- if the information submitted on a specific substance or use is based only on two reports or less than two reports, the respective quantity will not be divulged, in order to avoid that an undertaking could determine the content of the report of its competitor(s). This practise has not been laid down in an official procedure but it mirrors the "three company rule" applied by industry.
Data Protection Rules
Since the EEA is an official EU body, Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (Regulation on Data Protection), applies to it.
This implies that EEA has to apply data protection rules when processing personal data such as the contact details of the reporters under the ODS and F-Gas Regulation.
The Specific Privacy Statement related to the processing of this personal data is available here.