Protection of Personal Data - actual and proposed issues

• Author: Mihaela Olteanu - Florina Mariana Homeghiu
• Position: Phd Student, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania - Phd Student, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania
• Pages: 302-307

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives

2012

302

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Protection of Personal Data – actual and proposed issues

Florina Mariana Olteanu (Homeghiu)

1

, Mihaela Olteanu

2

Abstract: “Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An

identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an

identification number or to on e or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic,

cultural or social identity. There are different ways in which an individual can be considered ‘identifiable’. A

person’s full name is an obvious likely identifier. But a person ca n also be identifiable from other

information, including a c ombination of identification elements such as physical characteristics, pseudonyms

occupation, address etc. International and national authorities tried to adopt different types of regulations in

order to protect individuals’ personal data and to inform them with respect to their rights. The legal

provisions are c ontinuously changing according to the new realities (society and economy are changing,

individuals are using different kind of communications). In order to ha ve a strong protection of personal data

and unitary rules for all member states, the European Commission published in January 2012 a proposal f or a

General Data Protection Regulation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal

data and on the free movement of such data, which will supersede Directive 95/46/EC. A regulation was

considered the most appropriate legal instrument to define the new framework for the protection of personal

data in the European Union: is directly binding upon the Member States, is directly applicable within the

Member States and as soon as a regulation is passed, it automatically becomes p art of the na tional legal

system. The document s hall be discussed by the European Parliament and the EU Member States meeting in

the Council of Ministers for discussion. The rules will take effect two years after they have been adopted.

Keywords: data protection; personal data; data transfer; EU law

The term “personal data” includes information touching the individual’s private and family life

“stricto sensu”, but also information regarding whatever types of activity is undertaken by the

individual, like that concerning working relations or the economic or social behaviour of the

individual. It includes therefore information on individuals, regardless of the position or capacity of

those persons (as consumer, patient, employee, customer, etc).

The definition contains four main building blocks:

- “any information”,

- “relating to”,

- “an identified or identifiable”,

- “natural person”.

From the point of view of the nature of the information, the concept of personal data includes any sort

of statements about a person. It covers “objective” information, such as the presence of a certain

substance in one's blood. It also includes “subjective” information, opinions or assessments. This latter

1

Phd Student, National School of Pol itical Studies and Public Administration, Romania, Address: 6 Povernei str., Sector 1,

Bucharest, Romania, Tel.:+4021.318.08.97, fax: +4021.312.25.35, Corresponding author: m_florinaolteanu@yahoo.com.

2

Phd Student, Nat ional School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania, Addres s: 6 Povernei str., Sector 1,

Bucharest, Romania, Tel.:+4021.318.08.97, fax: +4021.312.25.35, e-mail: mihaelaolteanu@ymail.com - Beneficiary of the

project “Doctoral scholarships for the development of the knowledge-based society”, co-funded by the Eur opean Union

through the European Social Fund, Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013.