"Rights and freedoms" - what does it really mean?

[Ditto]

You know how certain expressions get used in certain situations and we all go along with them, but them someone like me starts to think harder about them. Well, with GDPR the subject title is used a lot. Now the "rights" I get, right to be informed, right to access, rectification, erasure and more all make sense and are clear. There are many examples where individual "rights" are referred too in isolation. But I only ever recall seeing "freedoms" in the fuller expression, not on it's own.

 

So, with "freedoms", what is that word really getting at.

[DavidMcCarthy]

Hi Ditto, interesting one which I put forward my two cents.

 

I believe the term "freedoms" is typically used to emphasise the importance of protecting the rights of individuals but more importantly the freedoms we should all enjoy when it comes to our right to privacy i.e. Freedom from:

 

• Insecurity: Failure to design a process product or service with adequate access control measures• Intrusion: Acts which disturb an individual’s solitude or tranquility (e.g., junk mail, spam, telemarketing)• Decisional interference: An action by an external party, such as a government or commercial entity, that interferes with an individual’s decision-making regarding their personal affairs

 

Interested to hear your thoughts.

[GrumbleDook]

You have to remember that most data protection legislation comes from a history of human rights. It is a very long history but things like the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Council of Europe Convention 108 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child all form a strong basis on how Privacy and Data Protection legislation is built and balanced against the needs of the supplier.

 

This means you can start considering things like freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and speech ...

 

Within GDPR, the WP29 Recital 75 does give more information and context, in particular to vulnerable data subjects and where special category personal data may be in use.

 

Basically, vulnerable groups are often those most likely to be affected by problems from the use of personal data. You have to think about what these problems are and remember that it is about the data subjects, not the organisation.

 

Not sure if this helps to clarify it but hopefully it gives a bit more background prior to doing any DPIA.