The Accountability Principle in Data Protection Regulation: Origin, Development and Future Directions

Abstract

Accountability is a concept which has received renewed attention in current policy discourses concerning the future of data protection regulation. The main purpose of this article is to analyze the origin and development of accountability as a data protection principle. The article starts by outlining how accountability is generally understood across disciplines. This outline is followed by an historical survey of the most significant legal and policy instruments which have incorporated accountability as a separate data protection principle. After that the potential role and impact of the accountability principle in the context of the revision of Directive 95/46/EC will be examined, with specific focus on the introduction of a general principle of accountability and the role of accountability in the context of international data transfers. This analysis also identifies some of the main challenges and open issues for the further development of this concept within the EU Data Protection framework.

Keywords: Data protection, privacy, accountability