EU’s Neelie Kroes on How to Protect Data Without Resorting to Protectionism

EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes gave an impassioned plea for Europe to use the Edward Snowden revelations as a wake-up call and to make offering a more secure Internet something of a competitive advantage.

She also said European regulators should find ways to guarantee more consumer protections while at the same time avoiding rules that would make Europe isolationist. Afterward, Re/code caught up with Kroes to get a few more details on how she imagines that taking shape.

“We are talking about an open Internet, and I am a great believer (in that),” Kroes said in an interview on the sidelines of the CeBit Global Conference. “We need to be absolutely certain that it is not ruled by other ones and in ways that are not fitting in our culture.” Trust, security and privacy are key European values that must be ensured, she said.