Datenschutz und transatlantische Freihandelszone

Abstract

In the context of the negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership it is worth looking at commonalities and divergencies in data protection on both sides of the Atlantic. Whereas in the US the collection of personal data is unregulated in contrast to the later uses to which these data are put, in Europe the collection is considered to curtail rights of the data subject and therefore needs justification. The revelations on the activities of the National Security Agency show the urgent need to reach an international agreement about the limits of intelligence activities.