Data

Data protection, privacy and new technologies

More of our everyday lives are online — both at work and home. Meanwhile, terror attacks intensify calls for more surveillance. Concerns grow over the safety of our privacy and personal data.

FRA helps lawmakers and practitioners protect your rights in a connected world.

Highlights

  • Report / Paper / Summary
    11
    June
    2024
    Data protection rules protect privacy and prevent personal information from misuse. When the general data protection regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, it strengthened the role of data protection authorities. These supervisory bodies are the key enforcers of the fundamental right of protection of personal data. This report analyses the challenges they face in the GDPR implementation. The findings complement the European Commission's forthcoming evaluation of the GDPR.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    24
    May
    2023
    This report provides a partial update on the findings of the 2017 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) report Surveillance by intelligence services: Fundamental rights safeguards and remedies in the EU. It was prepared at the request of the European Parliament, which asked FRA to update its 2017 findings to support the work of its committee of inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA).
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    8
    December
    2022
    Artificial intelligence is everywhere and affects everyone – from deciding what content people see on their social media feeds to determining who will receive state benefits. AI technologies are typically based on algorithms that make predictions to support or even fully automate decision-making.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    18
    June
    2020
    This document presents data from the FRA Fundamental Rights Survey. It includes data on opinions and experiences of people in the European Union (EU) linked to data protection and technology.
    Publications and data
    10
    September
    2018
    This Opinion aims to
    inform the European Parliament’s position on the legislative proposal amending the
    Visa Information System, the Visa Code and other related provisions of EU law. The
    European Commission presented the proposal on 16 May 2018 and EU legislators are
    currently discussing it.
    6
    June
    2018
    The year 2017 brought both progress and setbacks in terms of rights protection. The European Pillar of Social Rights marked an important move towards a more ‘social Europe’. But, as experiences with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights underscore, agreement on a text is merely a first step. Even in its eighth year as the EU's binding bill of rights, the Charter's potential was not fully exploited, highlighting the need to more actively promote its use.
    6
    June
    2018
    The year 2017 brought both progress and setbacks in terms of fundamental rights protection. FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2018 reviews major developments in the field, identifying both achievements and remaining areas of concern.
    30
    May
    2018
    We live in a world of big data, where technological developments in the area of machine learning and artificial intelligence have changed the way we live. Decisions and processes concerning everyday life are increasingly automated, based on data. This affects fundamental rights in various ways. This focus paper specifically deals with discrimination, a fundamental rights area particularly affected by technological developments.
    25
    May
    2018
    Arabic version now available
    18 July 2024
    The rapid development of information technology has exacerbated the need for robust personal data protection, the right to which is safeguarded by both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) instruments. Safeguarding this important right entails new and significant challenges as technological advances expand the frontiers of areas such as surveillance, communication interception and data storage. This handbook is designed to familiarise legal practitioners not specialised in data protection with this emerging area of the law.
    17
    May
    2018
    Civil society organisations in the European Union play a crucial role in promoting fundamental
    rights, but it has become harder for them do so – due to both legal and practical restrictions.
    This summary outlines the main
    findings and FRA’s opinions on the different
    types and patterns of challenges faced by civil society
    organisations across the EU,
    9
    May
    2018
    With terrorism, cyber-attacks and sophisticated cross-border criminal networks posing growing threats, the work of intelligence services has become more urgent, complex and international. Such work can strongly interfere with fundamental rights, especially privacy and data protection. While continuous technological advances potentially exacerbate the threat of such interference, effective oversight and remedies can curb the potential for abuse.
    This video blog by FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty is released periodically and will address burning fundamental rights themes.
    19
    April
    2018
    This Opinion by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) aims to inform the European Parliament position concerning legislative proposals on interoperability between EU information technology systems (IT systems) presented on 12 December 2017 and currently discussed by the EU legislators.
    28
    March
    2018
    This report outlines the fundamental rights implications of collecting, storing and using
    biometric and other data in EU IT systems in the area of asylum and migration.
    Mario Oetheimer presented FRA’s second surveillance report to the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee on 21 November in Brussels.
    This is the recording of the online press briefing about mass surveillance as presented by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on 16 October 2017.
    This second volume, ‘Surveillance by intelligence services: fundamental rights safeguards and remedies in the EU’, explores legal changes since the first volume in 2015 and how these laws are applied in practice. It is based on data from all EU Member States on the legal framework governing surveillance and complemented by field research in seven Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. This involved more than 70 interviews with a range of stakeholders related to surveillance. These included overseers and controllers from the executive, indedepent expert bodies, parliamentary committees, the judiciary and actors from the civil society. These quotes are contained in the report. Below are a selection of some of them:
    23
    October
    2017
    This report is FRA’s second publication addressing a European Parliament request for in-depth research on the impact of surveillance on fundamental rights. It updates FRA’s 2015 legal analysis on the topic, and supplements that analysis with field-based insights gained from extensive interviews with diverse experts in intelligence and related fields, including its oversight.
    13
    July
    2017
    In 2006 the EU issued its Data Retention Directive. According to the Directive, EU Member States had to store electronic telecommunications data for at least six months and at most 24 months for investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime. In 2016, with an EU legal framework on data retention still lacking, the CJEU further clarified what safeguards are required for data retention to be lawful.This paper looks at amendments to national data retention laws in 2016 after the Digital Rights Ireland judgment.
    11
    July
    2017
    The European Parliament requested this FRA Opinion on the fundamental rights and personal data protection implications of the proposed Regulation for the creation of a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), including an assessment of the fundamental rights aspects of the access
    by law enforcement authorities and Europol.
    7
    July
    2017
    Various proposals on EU-level information systems in the areas of borders and security mention interoperability, aiming to provide fast and easy access to information about third-country nationals.
    30
    May
    2017
    Diverse efforts at both EU and national levels sought to bolster fundamental rights protection in 2016, while some measures threatened to undermine such protection.
    30
    May
    2017
    Diverse efforts at both EU and national levels sought to bolster fundamental rights protection in 2016, while some measures threatened to undermine such protection.
    FRA took part in the inaugural meeting of the Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) from 4 to 6 April.
    FRA participated in the conference on AI and the Future of Europe in Brussels on 30 March.
    FRA Director was on mission in Brussels from 9 to 11 February 2022 to speak at the conference “Safeguarding fundamental rights in the digital age” organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Commission, DG Justice and Consumer Protection.
    On 8 and 10 December, FRA participated in two panels at the 16th Internet Governance Forum 2021.
    The Handbook on European data protection law is designed to familiarise legal practitioners not specialised in data protection with this emerging area of law.
    FRA participated in the eu-LISA Annual Conference 2021, ‘Towards a Digital Schengen Area,’ on 27 October.
    FRA’s Director addressed ‘The Challenge of Artificial Intelligence for Human Society and the Idea of the Human Person’ conference on 21 October in Rome.
    The FRA Director addressed the 7th EDEN conference on data protection in law enforcement in Rome on 18 October.
    FRA provided a keynote presentation on 1 October to a business workshop on trustworthy AI.
    On 14 September 2021, eight international organisations joined forces to launch a new portal promoting global cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI). The portal is a one-stop shop for data, research findings and good practices in AI policy.
    On 6 September, FRA joined a European Parliament panel discussion on the digital services act.
    FRA’s report on artificial intelligence and fundamental rights presents concrete examples of how companies and public administrations in the EU are using, or trying to use, AI.
    The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in respecting the fundamental rights to health, education, employment and social protection across society. FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2021 plots the pandemic’s wide-ranging impact on rights and suggests how best to address increasing inequalities and threats to societal cohesion.
    On 30 April, FRA took part in Equinet’s webinar on artificial intelligence. It introduced the context of its research on fundamental rights and AI, its findings with regards to specific fundamental rights (data protection, non-discrimination, and access to remedies), and its key recommendations.
    During the first of a series of seminars on AI and law, FRA presented its research findings on the fundamental rights implications of using Artificial Intelligence.
    On 24 March, FRA took part in a webinar organised by the European Network of Ombudsmen on AI and e-government in public administrations.
    FRA outlined fundamental rights safeguards in the Entry-Exit system during a training course on 2 and 3 February. FRA rose awareness on the potential risks for fundamental rights, that can emerge if safeguards are not duly implemented, drawing on its relevant work.
    FRA presented the main findings from its facial recognition technology paper during an event organised by the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO). The network brings together 15 independent, national human rights NGOs from different countries.
    Our personal data shape the ads we see. They help governments trace the spread of COVID-19. But as technology advances, so should data protection safeguards. For this year’s Data Protection Day, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) highlights data protection challenges to ensure our rights are upheld.