*** UPDATE [01/03]: see the opinion of the ITRE committee on the proposal for a regulation on the protection of personal data ***
Paris, 21 February 2013 — One month after the terrible opinion vote of the “Consumers” (IMCO) Committee, MEPs from the “Industry” (ITRE) committee, and to a lesser extent from the “Employment” (EMPL) one, have also voted to weaken protection of EU citizens' privacy. In the ITRE committee, because of the support of Members of the liberal (ALDE) group, conservatives' amendments lifting restrictions on the collection, processing and resale of citizens' personal data by companies have been adopted. Before the “Legal Affairs” (JURI) committee's opinion vote and the main, crucial, “Civil Liberties” (LIBE) committee's report vote, citizens should act and urge their MEPs to break away from big corporations' lobbying and to protect their fundamental right to privacy.