Mr Söderman has acted as the European Ombudsman since the position was created in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. His duty is to investigate and report on maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Community.
According to the Ombudsman’s letter, dated 30th September 2002, the misinterpretation of data protection law, “risks subverting the principle of openness and the public's right of access to documents, both at the level of the Union and in the Member States." In a paper entitled "The misuse of data protection rules in the European Union", he provides examples of this misinterpretation.