ABSTRACT
Individuals make assumptions about information processing concerning them based on environmental cues. These assumptions may lead to behavioural adaptations which constitute harms to fundamental rights – for example, certain acts of self-censorship. A set of such adaptations, where individuals refrain from engaging in legitimate activities, are called chilling effects. Given, however, that behavioural reactions to cues underlie chilling effects, chilling effects can occur in contexts where the relevant cues are presented but where no information is ever processed: ‘informationless chilling effects’. The aim of this article is to introduce and elaborate the concept of informationless chilling effects and to sketch the argument for looking to EU data protection law to provide protection in relation to these effects.
