The right to privacy and an implication of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe: challenges to the companies

ABSTRACT

The article traces the European Union (EU)’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and implication in the Europe. In the era of global digitalisation, the right to respect private life, communication and the home has become a matter of protection. Protecting the right to privacy is a responsibility of a state which includes privacy of personal information, e.g. birth, messages, phone call and number and emails. Likewise, this study explains EU concern’s about its citizens’ privacy and the recent inclusion of the GDPR for the protection of natural persons. The article aims to explore individual fundamental rights and implications in the digital age, as well as cooperation data rules between companies and public bodies. At the same time, questions arise about the rightful implication of GDPR and the right to privacy of the public through protection, especially from tech companies. For validating the argument, various qualitative research methods were applied. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a serious question over privacy rights protection by the government, which supports our findings that EU GDPR has a long road to go and have challenges. Its credibility of lawful data activities is also a matter of concern and a reliable promise by the member states and the EU.

KEYWORDS:

• European Union
• GDPR
• privacy rights
• fundamental rights
• personal rights

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for their comprehensive review of the manuscript and very useful suggestion. It was not possible without the support of Dr Hab. Katarzyna Kołodziejczyk and Dr Hab. Jakub Zajączkowski.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. European Convention on Human Rights – Official texts, Convention and Protocols. Retrieved 12 January 2022, from https://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p = basictexts&c

2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from; https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

3. EUR-Lex – 32016R0679 – EN – EUR-Lex. (2016). Retrieved 12 January 2022, from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri = uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2016.119.01.0001.01.ENG&toc = OJ%3AL%3A2016%3A119%3ATOC

4. GDPR, supra note 2, art. 3(1), at 32. Compare Directive 95/46, supra note 1, art. 3, at 39 (addressing scope). The consideration of a processor’s activities in determining the territorial scope of the GDPR reflects the greater accountability of processors under the GDPR, when compared to the Data Protection Directive.

5. Ibid, GDPR, Directive 95/46, at 32.

6. Ibid, GDPR Directive 95/46, at 39.

7. Ibid, GDPR Directive 95/46, at 34.

8. Ibid, GDPR Directive 95/46, at 37.

9. Ibid, GDPR Directive 95/46, at 83.

10. Ibid, GDPR Directive 95/46, at 82.

11. See more about article 5 Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation.

12. EEA countries are Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland, and GDPR conditionally applied for processing data of the EU and EEA residents.

13. Directive on privacy and electronic communications.

14. TFEU stand for ‘Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union’

15. Batura and Peeters (2021), European Parliament briefing Requested by the AIDA committee, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, PE 662.939 -July 2021. Available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/662939/IPOL_BRI(2021)662939_EN.pdf.

Additional information

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Simant Shankar Bharti

Mr Simant Shankar Bharti is a Doctoral Candidate in Social Science at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. At present, Mr Bharti is an Honorary Fellow at Forum for Global Studies, New Delhi. He has presented papers in both national and international seminars. His focus is primarily on the analysis of EU policies towards South Asia, and his research interest includes the international political economy, international development, development policy, foreign policy and aid, the role of developing countries in global politics and development economics.

Saroj Kumar Aryal

Saroj Kumar Aryal is a PhD researcher at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences, University of Warsaw. His area of research includes great power politics, South Asian affairs and China in South Asia. Additionally, he is a faculty member of the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw.