Download This PaperThe Notion of 'Fair Processing' in Data Privacy Law
Forthcoming, in "Quelle protection des données personnelles en Europe?", Céline Castets-Renard (ed.), University of Toulouse, 2015
12 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2015
Date Written: January 2, 2015
Abstract
This paper examines how the concept of "fair processing" is evaluated under US and European data protection law. The paper first examines the FTC's "fairness" test, which involves an explicit cost-benefit analysis, before focusing on Article 6 of the European Data Protection Directive and related case law on "fair processing." The paper then examines "fair processing" from the law and economics perspective, and from the perspective of whether general standards are superior to detailed rules. The paper links the debate on generality versus specificity of norms to the question of whether the proposed EU General Data Protection Regulation may be too detailed and prescriptive.
Keywords: fair processing, data protection, Europe, United States, privacy, law and economics, EU General Data Protection Regulation, FTC
JEL Classification: K39, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation