DATA PROTECTION REGULATION

The educational goal of the course is to provide students with a specific understanding of data protection law, in particular from a European perspective. The course is aimed at introducing the concept of personal data and their importance in the modern economy. It will pinpoint the role of data protection in the safeguard of human dignity and its distinction from privacy, also by analysing the evolution in its regulation. Principles and rules stated in the recent EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be studied in depth, as well as the decisions of the European Court of Justice involving data protection. Attention will be given to modern challenges, such as artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things.

Knowledge and understanding. The students will be able to:
1. understand the importance of data protection and its role in the protection of human rights, as well as the threat to democracy caused by the massive use of personal and big data;
2. understand how policy makers can tackle the problems posed by the need for data protection, balancing other values and ensuring the free movement of data;
3. understand what principles and rules regulate data protection in the European Union, with specific regard to the rights of data subjects and the duties of data controllers and processors.
Applied knowledge and understanding. The students will be able to:
4. analyse and critically evaluate solutions offered by EU law in the field of data protection and propose legal solutions for doubtful cases;
5. envisage the problems that will arise in the future, in particular with regard to the exploitation of big data and automated decision-making, and assess the criticalities of the current regulation;
6. solve cases involving data protection and provide advice to ensure compliance with data protection regulation.

No prerequisites are needed.

The course will deal with data protection regulation. In particular, it will be articulated as follows:
1. data protection, privacy and human dignity;
2. the evolution of data protection regulation and its different generations;
3. the GDPR: material and territorial scope;
4. the principles of data processing in the GDPR;
5. the rights of the data subject; in particular, the role of consent, the right to object, the right to data portability and the regulation of data portability and automated individual decision-making;
6. controller and processor;
7. the role of the d.p.o. and Independent Supervisory Authorities;
8. remedies, liability and penalties;
9. special problems: big data;
10. special problems: IoT.

Attending students: slides of the classes; selected articles, essays and case law. Slides of the classes and case law will be uploaded each week in advance. Articles and essays will be uploaded at the beginning of the course in the online platform moodle.unive.it The materials will remain available on line during the entire duration of the course and the subsequent exam periods.
Non-attending students: P. Voigt and A. von dem Bussche, The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A Practical Guide, Springer, 2017.
Both attending and non-attending students are required to use, while studying, an adjourned version of the GDPR, which can be downloaded from the following website: https://eur-lex.europa.eu .

Mock exams will be uploaded during the course, in order to allow students to assess their level of preparation.
Written exam, including both multiple choice and open-ended questions. Extra points will be awarded to attending students who will participate in the assignments indicated during the course.

The lectures will be taught in class. The students will be invited to discuss case law.
Teaching language is English.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development