Privacy and data protection in a nutshell

Privacy and data protection are fundamental rights protected by EU law. In this video, we will discuss these rights, as they provide a legal basis to support the rights of data subjects under the GDPR. Privacy refers to the part of our lives which we, as individuals, want to control and keep to ourselves. The right to privacy is an umbrella concept that contains many meanings. It protects our communications, home, body, and life secrecy, among other things. It protects our dignity, freedom, liberty, and autonomy so that we can develop intimate relationships with others and achieve personal prosperity and well-being. In the EU, the fundamental right to privacy is covered by Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

This article protects the right to respect for private and family life, home and communications. In modern society, where ICT are being increasingly used, data collection and processing has become an important factor and way of life. The right to data protection has therefore been developed to protect individuals from potential harms due to data abuse and misuse. In the EU, the right to data protection is covered by Article 8 of the Charter. This article determines that everyone has the right to protection of personal data. The right to the protection of personal data is furthermore also enshrined in Article 16 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In the digital age, new technologies have been widely deployed in all aspects of life. Many new technologies can be privacy-invading if they are misused or abused. This may cause harm to individuals and society, even without our knowing it. However, we become more and more dependent on such privacy-invading technologies and the ever-growing data processing. The major challenge is to determine how to improve the protection of fundamental rights to privacy and data protection for EU citizens in light of these developments. In this regard, it is important to clarify what specific rights individuals and data subjects are entitled to under EU law. The GDPR has provided us with good answers.

In this course, we will explore how EU citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy and data protection can be protected under the GDPR. The GDPR has established data protection principles and rights for data subjects. It’s set up a robust legal compliance system, which we will introduce in the following weeks.