ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the main components of data protection and data ownership from a comparative viewpoint. The author considers the latest EU legislative initiative within the context of Italian law, other member state laws and Anglo-American doctrine and practice. He points out how certain concepts familiar to US-based scholars may sit uneasily with traditional constitutional values in Europe and its domestic laws. He refers data ownership back to the fundamental and constitutional rights of a person under national constitutions, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Treaties, and evaluates the quality of the guarantees and liberties provided by the digital economy. The author remains critical of the unfettered commercialisation of personal data in view of the threat to human dignity and integrity that it can pose.
