Europe touts its data protection rules as the "gold standard." But when it comes to enforcement, it's got nothing on the U.S.

Since May 2018 — when the European Union's new data protection standards came into force — the U.S. has raked in almost $6 billion in privacy fines, including hefty penalties for some of the biggest names in tech. The EU, meanwhile, has collected just $329.8 million.

That's down to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. regulator in charge of enforcing the country's privacy rules as well as a portfolio of other powers that includes consumer protection and antitrust enforcement.

"The FTC is a superior enforcement regime," said Jessica Rich, a former director of consumer protection at the FTC. "It comes down to focus. GDPR [the EU's General Data Protection Regulation] is more about regulation, the U.S. approach is more enforcement-focused."

Washington's stance could be about to get a whole lot tougher.

Under the administration of President Joe Biden, the U.S. watchdog will swing to the Democrats — a party historically more eager to rein in big business than the Republicans, which controlled the FTC under former President Donald Trump. Potential candidates to fill one of the FTC commissioner roles include Lina Khan, an antitrust expert and staunch Big Tech critic, though nominations have yet to be made public.

Evidence of American toughness on privacy, at least regarding enforcement, may come as a shock to those used to hearing that Washington is miles behind Brussels. EU officials have been eager to trumpet the bloc's privacy regime as the world’s strictest and a model for countries from Brazil to South Korea. 

That image has been reinforced by European courts repeatedly ruling that the U.S. isn't safe enough to store European data. But for eagle-eyed observers of privacy on both continents, that’s a false framing of the transatlantic divide.

“This narrative that Europe is leading way ahead of the U.S. is ridiculous. Europe has privacy on the books, but the U.S. has a lot of privacy on the ground,” said Omer Tene, vice president of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

The stats back up his assessment.

The FTC handed Facebook a $5 billion levy in 2019 for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal — its biggest ever fine. By comparison, the biggest privacy fine issued in the EU is €50 million — 100 times smaller — by the French regulator against Google for failing to gather sufficient user consent when displaying targeted ads.

Regulating Big Tech bigly

In Europe's defense, many national regulators did not have enforcement powers until the new privacy rules came into effect in 2018. Now, a series of investigations into the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google are underway across the bloc. WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook, is on deck for a privacy fine of between €30 million and €50 million from Ireland's data protection agency in a decision expected by the late summer.

Still, the FTC's hit list since 2018 dwarfs Europe's.

Alongside the Facebook fine, YouTube paid $170 million in 2019 for violating children's privacy, and Equifax, the credit-checking company, was fined $575 million in the same year for a nationwide data breach. Even Chinese-owned app TikTok coughed up $5.7 million for illegally collecting children's online information.

The U.S. watchdog has also been quick to target companies that have become household names during the coronavirus pandemic, like videoconferencing app Zoom, which it ordered to Boost data security in late 2020. There are limits to the FTC's fining powers, including how it can only sanction companies for a second violation to U.S. law. Plenty of Silicon Valley critics also note Facebook's fine hasn't stopped many of its data-hungry practices.

But even when the Washington watchdog can’t hit companies directly in the pocket — there are limits to its fining powers — the FTC has forced wholesale changes to the way organizations deal with data, something that has so far largely eluded Europe's agencies.

“They require companies to proactively change their practices, create new internal policies, procedures, controls and have in place internal and external audits, checks and balances," said Markus Heyder, a former FTC official and now vice president of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership, a Washington-based think tank. "These changes are much more effective, have larger impact on organizations and are ultimately more privacy-protective going forward than fines alone. They effectuate real change."

The FTC’s enforcement has often been at the cutting edge of how tech is being used.

In a case earlier this year, the U.S. agency forced a facial-recognition company to delete not only training data like photos and videos, but also the “face embeddings,” a technical term for features used for facial recognition, as well as the relevant algorithms and models used.

The case was praised across Europe, with Dutch privacy expert Mireille Hildebrandt saying it could be a watershed moment in tackling invasive tech — and a wake-up call to the 27-country bloc's own privacy enforcers.

“We should not be complacent about our legal framework,” Hildebrandt said, referring to Europe’s privacy rules. “The GDPR is far more effective, because it does not depend on [terms of service] but on the law itself. However, I do believe that civil society in the U.S. is more vigilant and the U.S. may actually move ahead of us precisely because they are in many ways far behind.” 

Legislation incoming

The lack of a federal privacy law in the U.S. — at the root of many unfavorable comparisons with the EU — could also be about to change. The pandemic has pushed privacy up the agenda, prompting states like Virginia, New York and Washington to press ahead with state-based privacy frameworks.

But action at the state level, which is only expected to pick up momentum, could also prompt Congress to move faster on its own privacy framework, although issues around how national legislation would work alongside U.S. state rules still need to be hammered out. Speaking to POLITICO, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden highlighted privacy as a key priority for U.S. lawmakers.

"We're seeing these shady data brokers and governments practically every week finding new ways to get the personal information and put at risk the well-being of Americans without complying with the constitution. You shouldn't be able to buy your way around the constitution," he said.

Obstacles in Congress remain. Unless Democrats eliminate the filibuster — which requires a 60-vote majority to pass most legislation in the U.S. Senate — advancing any digital legislation is an uphill battle even though they now control the upper chamber.

Early indications suggest that privacy could be a higher priority in Biden's administration than it was for Trump. Other issues, notably the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic recession, may still make it tough to get data protection proposals onto the legislative agenda.

The new U.S. president moved quickly to nominate a lead negotiator for a privacy deal with Europe. Vice President Kamala Harris has first-hand experience tackling consumer privacy issues from when she was California’s attorney general. Her successor in that role, Xavier Becerra, who’s been enforcing California's recently enacted GDPR-like law, is also joining the new administration.

A shift in the balance of power at the FTC — Democrats will eventually have three commissioners to the Republican’s two — could also see it ramp up privacy enforcement. Yet, as Washington has turned against Big Tech, both sides of the aisle have taken up the call for beefed-up privacy standards.

“Privacy is not a partisan issue, but the Democrats have more regulatory zeal,” said the IAPP’s Tene. 

Cristiano Lima contributed reporting from Washington.

You don't have permission to access "http://www.usnews.com/education/skillbuilder/machine-learning-with-python-for-finance-professionals-1_course_v1:ACCA+ML001+2T2022_verified" on this server.

Reference #18.3cec3817.1692854720.1c2c4859

Every year, EU Code Week encourages young people across Europe to engage with computer science in a hands-on way. Computer science skills are increasingly in demand in Europe’s labor market, across all kinds of sectors. In fact, over 90 percent of all jobs now require basic levels of digital skills. Meanwhile the demand for skilled ICT professionals in Europe has grown by 4 percent annually in the past decade.

EU Code Week is the perfect time for young people to dip their toes into the world of coding and start building up their expertise. But as this year’s edition kicks off, we also want to recognize the teachers working not just this week, but year-round, to ensure that their students are equipped for future success.

We recently spoke to several teachers from across Europe about the skills they value most in their classrooms – and how they work to hone these skills using technology.

From honing soft skills to staying safe online
Tere Lorca Alhama, a Music and ICT teacher from Spain, highlighted communications and problem solving as her priority skills, alongside critical thinking and digital literacy: “When it comes to their online lives, we must give students the tools to interact safely and behave appropriately. Social media can be a powerful teaching tool, for instance, but children need to learn to use it first.”

For Nicos Paphitis, an ICT teacher from Cyprus, soft skills are important, but there’s also a need to adapt to different students’ needs. As his students tinker with Minecraft or explore a new programming language, they are in fact learning how to collaborate, rethink, troubleshoot and improve, all at their own pace. This is “deep learning”, as Nicos calls it, and it is where he sees students truly thriving and remaining engaged.

Such an environment fosters creativity, which is highly sought-after by employers. Łukasz Gierek, a teacher from Poland, whose school is part of the Microsoft Showcase Schools Program, highlights why this skill in particular takes center stage in his classroom: “Creativity and collaboration are the two most important skills for the next generation. Creativity is what makes us human. The more we use AI, the more we need to cultivate creativity.”

The Chaifetz School's Professional MBA program offers a nationally ranked education in the heart of St. Louis, helping members of the region's workforce advance their business knowledge and obtain the right credentials to accelerate their careers. The program's flexible format gives working professionals options to grow their skills and network in a way that works for them. 

Connect with Us to Learn More

Your MBA. Your Way. 

Customized & Unique

One size does not fit all. Here at the Chaifetz School, your MBA will be as unique as your career goals. Built from three innovative certificates, our stackable program provides the generalist business education an MBA is known for, along with the opportunity to pursue your interests through specialized certificates:

• Applied Economic Forecasting
• Business Analytics
• Digital Marketing
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Financial Planning and Modeling
• International Business
• Product and Brand Management
• Real Estate Finance
• Supply Chain Management

Flexible Format

Take classes at your own pace and build your schedule each semester to fit your changing needs, whether you prefer to come to campus for in-person classes or need to take classes online to accommodate a busy travel schedule. With some specializations available 100% online, and a dedicated academic advisor to help you plan each semester based on work or family, you can finish your MBA in as little as 18 months as a business undergraduate student. With the entire program ranging from 33-39 credits, the average student graduates in 2 to 2.5 years.

Nationally Recognized & Locally Connected

U.S. News & World Report not only ranks the Chaifetz School's Professional MBA program a top part-time MBA program in the country, it also ranks the Chaifetz School a top institution for graduate study in entrepreneurship, international business and supply chain management.

As the oldest business school west of the Mississippi, the Chaifetz School has educated the business leaders of tomorrow for more than a century. That long history and Saint Louis University's deep roots in the heart of the city mean access to a vast network of alumni both here in St. Louis and across the world. More than 137,000 Billiken alumni live in all 50 states and 154 countries.

Personalized Career Support

With in-demand skills and tangible experience, a Chaifetz School MBA will position you to accelerate your career. Leverage the program’s dedicated career staff and professional network to make your post-MBA goals a reality.

As a lifetime benefit for our alumni, career services don’t end at graduation. Need a resume reviewed or thinking about job transition? Simply reach out to our Valerie A. Davisson Career Resources Center and we’ll support you in reaching the pinnacle of your career.

STEM-Certified Degree

Our program is STEM-certified, qualifying F-1 visa holders for an OPT extension. Students will need to choose one of the STEM certificates: Applied Economic Forecasting, Supply Chain Management, or Business Analytics. International students curious about their visa eligibility can learn more from the Department of Homeland Security.

Learn more about the Professional MBA curriculum

Funding Your Professional MBA

Thanks to the generosity of successful alumni and friends of Saint Louis University, earning a world-class MBA from the Chaifetz School of Business may not be as big of an investment as you think.