EU trade secrets directive threat to free speech, health, environment and worker mobility

A multi-sectoral coalition opposes a proposed EU trade secrets directive, arguing that its broad definitions and lack of safeguards threaten freedom of speech, worker mobility, and public access to critical health, environmental, and food safety data.

• The civil society coalition opposes the proposed EU trade secrets directive due to its broad definition of "trade secrets," extensive legal remedies for companies, and insufficient safeguards for the public interest, specifically for journalists, whistleblowers, researchers, consumers, and workers.
• The directive is criticized for potentially harming freedom of expression and information by requiring journalists and whistleblowers to prove that the disclosure of a trade secret was necessary and acted in the public interest, which the coalition argues can often only be evaluated after the fact.
• The coalition warns that the directive could restrict worker mobility by creating "lock-in effects," where employees avoid jobs in the same field as former employers to avoid liability for damages or the inability to use their own skills.
• There are concerns that the directive will be used to block transparency in health, environment, and food safety. Specifically, it could obstruct access to pharmaceutical clinical development data, emissions information required by the UN Aarhus Convention, and studies used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to assess food products and pesticides.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2015). EU trade secrets directive threat to free speech, health, environment and worker mobility. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Revised-statement-on-trade-secrets-directive_final-23-March-2015.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. EU trade secrets directive threat to free speech, health, environment and worker mobility. 2015. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Revised-statement-on-trade-secrets-directive_final-23-March-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=EU trade secrets directive threat to free speech, health, environment and worker mobility |date=23 March 2015 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Revised-statement-on-trade-secrets-directive_final-23-March-2015.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2015trade, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{EU trade secrets directive threat to free speech, health, environment and worker mobility}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Revised-statement-on-trade-secrets-directive_final-23-March-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }