2. The Committee is acutely aware that this is a field in which rapid technological advancements bring new challenges for the protection of personal information, especially in South Africa, where consumer information has been subject to commercial exploitation. The Committee believes it has achieved compliance with the European Union's Data Privacy Directive of 1995 and other international instruments that have a bearing on our trade relations. Proposed changes to the EU's legislation on data privacy have also been taken into account as far as practicable.