‘Recalling that the right to privacy is important for the exercise of freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information, and contributes to the development of an individual’s ability to participate in political, economic, social and cultural life and that digital technology has a considerable impact on the enjoyment of these rights, ‘ ‘Noting that, while metadata can provide benefits, certain types of metadata, when aggregated, can reveal personal information and can give an insightinto an individual’s behaviour, social relationships, private preferences and identity‘ ‘Emphasizing that unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as the unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data, as highly intrusive acts, violate the right to privacy, can interfere with the right to freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society, including when undertaken on a mass scale‘
Article 11 - Freedom of expression and information
