JJUA55132U Cancelled European Data Protection Law

Personal data is essential for data-driven economies. Bringing about the potential to bolster the economic efficiency and social benefits, processing of personal data, however, could also have a significant adverse effect on prevailing societal values and individual rights and freedoms. As echoed in Snowden revelations and the recent Cambridge Analytica case, this risk is inherent both in private and public data practices. Against this background, the regulatory approach in the field calls for a delicate balance to be struck in enabling technological advances like big data and Internet of things while respecting individuals’ rights to privacy and data protection. Recently enacted data protection Regulation in Europe stands out as an international blueprint for addressing these concerns. Yet, despite its theoretical might, it remains to be seen if it is capable of efficiently solving these issues in practice. Given the importance of data protection and privacy as fundamental human rights and recognized societal values, the knowledge and competences to deal with data protection considerations are critical for any individual, not to mention legal professionals. This course is tailored to enable students to obtain and master these essential skills.

The course consists of four closely linked and interdependent parts.

The first part is foundational, where respective sessions introduce the legal framework, key terms and rationale behind adopting and enforcing data protection rules in Europe.

The second part delves into substantive rules and instruments of data protection, focusing on the material and territorial scope of the Regulation, data protection principles, legal basis for processing, rights of the data subject, transfer to third countries, sanctions and compliance mechanisms.

The third part addresses some contentious issues of the current data protection regime, exploring issues such as balancing data protection and right to privacy with other human rights, considering examples of technologies and their effect on privacy (e.g. big data, blockchain, etc.)

The fourth part (“in-depth studies” module) of the course offers potential for students to carry out an independent research project where they work on two selected topics and present their findings to other students in the class.

The course has relations to the BA courses “Individets grundlæggende rettigheder”, “EU-ret”, “Ret, privatliv og teknologi” and, to some extent, to the introduction to data protection law given to the students in "Forvaltningsret".