Data protection in an ever-changing technological environment

Abstract

Following a spate of criticisms of Directive 95/46 EC in the wake of the proliferation of Internet based technologies, critics allege that the current Directive is no longer able to sufficiently safeguard the protection of data subjects' personal data. This thesis assessed whether the proposed General Data Protection Regulation is better framed to address the challenges that exist and whether it indeed strengthens the rights and controls which data subjects have over their personal data. The thesis explores selected provisions of the impending proposals for reform by providing an in-depth analysis and commenting on their implications to various data controllers. Throughout the thesis the author highlights similarities and distinctions of the Regulation with its predecessor and sheds light on the Regulation's application to social networking, cloud computing and other technologies. The thesis features the opinions of a number of prominent commentators, authoritative bodies and lobby groups as well as the opinion of the author himself. The thesis concludes with a brief discussion on whether the Regulation has lived up to its expectations and whether it is better framed to deal with new realities brought about by new technologies, globalisation and ubiquitous computing.