ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some general questions related to privacy and data protection. In Europe, the implementation of EU directive 95/46, such a general approach can be helpful for an understanding of the problems facing legislatures. The chapter deals with privacy, a well-known legal concept and a right that is included in the traditional human rights catalogue. The idea of privacy—that a sphere of a person's life is private—arises when technologies that can be used to infringe private life are developed. Modern information technology has improved the possibilities of processing personal data. The computer and the networks are strong tools with respect to information. The societal need for personal information is huge, and it has become a difficult task to maintain boundaries of privacy. Although data protection law aims at preventing misuse of personal information, at the same time it promotes principles that can be viewed as part of privacy and justice in the information society.
