Watching the Watchers: Transgovernmental Implementation of Data Privacy Policy in Europe

The governance of data privacy in Europe increasingly transpires through networks of transgovernmental actors - data privacy authorities. While research has demonstrated how such networks shape the policy agenda, little work has examined issues of implementation. This article, thus, explores the growing role that pan-European networks of data privacy authorities play in the enforcement of regional privacy rules. It first surveys the different networks and their participants before identifying their implementation efforts - information sharing, standards harmonization, and joint enforcement. The article notes how such regional enforcement co-operation has itself become a political leverage point for data privacy authorities seeking to expand their authority. In comparing across networks and their functions, the article isolates a regional dimension to privacy implementation and more generally suggests a novel form of networked governance within Europe.