Data, data, data: Personal data, non-personal data, composite personal data, anonymization, data ownership and other data issues

  • Andoni Polo Roca
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-69(1)-2021pp211-240
Keywords: data, personal data, ECJ, anonymization, re-identification

Abstract

Data protection is an area in constant growth, due to new technologies and the dangers they pose to our privacy. At the core of data protection, we have just that: «personal data». But what is a personal data? The answer is found in the GDPR, but the legal definition may not reach all the data that it should. To this is added the doctrine of the CJEU, or the doctrine of the ECHR in relation to «data relating to private and family life». Along with this, we will also see the «non-personal data» that has also been defined by EU law, and that is outside the application of the GDPR, but do they have any protection? In this area, so-called metadata takes relevance, which is non-personal data per se, but which can pose a threat to privacy. For this reason, the CJEU made some highly relevant pronouncements regarding these «non-personal data» (technically), which have resulted in what can be called the theory of «composite personal data» or «profile theory», a data which is both personal and non-personal (hybrid); this coupled with the combination of data and the aggregation of data. In all this, we must also bear in mind the pseudonymization and anonymization, but especially the possibility of re-identifying a person. And finally, it is necessary to address the analysis regarding the ownership of personal data (data ownership) and its commercialization, answering two questions: whose data is it? And are our data objects of commerce?

Received: 11.01.2021
Accepted: 18.06.2021

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Author Biography

Andoni Polo Roca

Abogado

Published
2021-07-07
How to Cite
Polo Roca, Andoni. 2021. “Data, Data, Data: Personal Data, Non-Personal Data, Composite Personal Data, Anonymization, Data Ownership and Other Data Issues”. Estudios De Deusto 69 (1), 165-94. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed-69(1)-2021pp211-240.
Issue
Vol. 69 No. 1 (2021)
Section
Studies

Last update: 08/02/2022

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