Reinventing Data Protection?

Date published

19.03.2025

Imprint

Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Publisher

Springer Dordrecht

ISBN

9781402094972

data. Furthermore, the European Union established clear basic principles for the collection, storage and use of personal data by governments, businesses and other organizations or individuals in Directive 95/46/EC and Directive 2002/58/EC on Privacy and Electronic communications. Nonetheless, the twenty-?rst century citizen – utilizing the full potential of what ICT-technology has to offer – seems to develop a digital persona that becomes increasingly part of his individual social identity. From this perspective, control over personal information is control over an aspect of the identity one projects in the world. The right to privacy is the freedom from unreasonable constraints on one’s own identity. Transactiondata–bothtraf?candlocationdata–deserveourparticularattention. As we make phone calls, send e-mails or SMS messages, data trails are generated within public networks that we use for these communications. While traf?c data are necessary for the provision of communication services, they are also very sensitive data. They can give a complete picture of a person’s contacts, habits, interests, act- ities and whereabouts. Location data, especially if very precise, can be used for the provision of services such as route guidance, location of stolen or missing property, tourist information, etc. In case of emergency, they can be helpful in dispatching assistance and rescue teams to the location of a person in distress. However, p- cessing location data in mobile communication networks also creates the possibility of permanent surveillance.

Editors

Serge Gutwirth

LSTS, VUB

Serge Gutwirth (1960) professor of Human Rights, Comparative law, Legal Theory and Methodology at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he studied law, criminology and also obtained a post-graduate degree in technology and science studies. He defended his PhD in law on the relationships between law and sciences on December 15, 1992. From 1994 until 2009 he also held a part-time position of lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Erasmus University Rotterdam where he was in charge of the coordination of research and taught 'Philosophy of law'. He is currently Vice-Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Law and Criminology. He is the Director of the research group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS).

Paul De Hert

LSTS, VUB

Paul De Hert is professor of law at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is the Director of the research group on Fundamental Rights and Constitutionalism (FRC) and senior member of the research group on Law, Science, Technology & Society (LSTS). Paul De Hert is also associated-professor Law and Technology at the Tilburg Institute for Law and Technology (TILT).

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