Browsing by Author "Saari, Sakari"

The Master’s thesis focuses on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its approach to personal data categorisation. More specifically, the thesis focuses on the scope of Article 9 Special Category Data and its relation to “generic” personal data. While the GDPR proposes additional data categories (criminal convictions and data on children) these are ruled outside its scope. Furthermore, the thesis focuses on the commercially relevant aspects of Article 9 and does not attempt to analyse all processing in relation to Article 9. The thesis presents that the scope of generic personal data and special category data are often overlapping and unclear. This is examined to be primarily due to the technological developments and current data processing atmosphere. This is seen to result in issues with ensuring the adequate protection of sensitive information. The thesis concludes that modern data processing is partially incompatible with strict and distinct data categories. The thesis further presents that the embrace of large scale personal data processing has been partly enabled by the introduction of Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This right to data protection is seen to introduce a “right to process data” which results in narrowing the privacy protections traditionally rewarded to sensitive information. Issues with the application and scope of Article 9 of the GDPR can be partially traced to the influence of fundamental EU rights.