The relation between some EU representatives and American lobbyists looks to me like the one between a nice kid and the bully of the classroom that has to retake his classes. The nice one might be encouraged to do naughty things; his marks will probably be negatively affected and his parents are for sure worried about the friendship. The idea of hanging around with the bad boy of the class might sound very cool, but the risks of a bad ending to the story are high.

British press (The Telegraph & The Independent) is reporting on research which shows that almost every fourth amendment to the data protection regulation of some British MEPs is an exact copy of one appearing in American lobbyists papers. Moreover, as you can see in this website, this issue does not stay just within the borders of the British islands, but many MEPs from other countries are doing the same.

There is no problem in listening to the advice of experts and different groups of society but keeping too much attention to private interests that are coming from outside the EU, and particularly from a country where the protection of personal data is not recognized as a Fundamental Right like it is in Europe, might be a little dangerous. Moreover, I find it difficult to imagine an American congressman or congresswoman following so precisely European companies' suggestions. To be honest, that situation wouldn't even make too much sense to me. How can the EU be innovative if we try so hard to repeat the same mistakes made in other parts of the world? How can we aspire to be a global leader if one quarter of the modifications we make to our laws are 'inspired' by foreign companies?

If you want to remind to your representatives that it was you who voted for them and not foreign firms, you can find how to do so in this website: http://www.privacycampaign.eu/