Unearthing the relationship between data protection and privacy

Unearthing the relationship between data protection and privacy

a) DP = P

or

b) DP ≠ P

The connection between #dataprotection and #privacy is sometimes confusing and we tend, for practical purposes, to regard them as similar.

If we focus our analysis to EU law, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU provides a solid legal basis to argue that both rights are different: art. 7 CFR provides for the ‘respect for family and private life’, while art. 8 CFR the ‘protection of personal data’

More in-depth, it is interesting to consider the different facets of data protection (Lynskey, The Foundations of EU Data Protection Law, OUP 2016, p94-105)

1) data protection and privacy are complementary tools: both serve the ultimate aim of ensuring respect for human dignity.

2) data protection is a face of the right to privacy: while privacy was at the outset conceptualised as ‘seclusion’ or ‘the right to be let alone’ it evolved to encompass elements of informational control;

3) data protection as a right that serves a number of purposes including, but not limited to, privacy: data protection overlaps with privacy because both ensure informational or data privacy.