CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Habrard, Martin |
|---|---|
| Title | The Discourse of Digital Privacy: An analysis of US and EU data protection policy |
| Summary | The increase in data sharing/collection in recent decades has alerted policymakers to the need for data protection policy to preserve the right of individuals to digital privacy. However, not all data protection regimes have developed to the same degree and in the same way. This paper suggests that policy discourse surrounding the concept of digital privacy itself may be contributing to this disparity. To explore this question, it identifies the conceptual divide between the individualization and the collectivization of digital privacy and, by extension, data protection. It examines the discourse of forty US and EU policy texts along these lines. The analysis finds that EU discourse is considerably more collectivized, perhaps due to a more developed and consistent data protection regime and an emphasis on fundamental rights. On the other hand, US discourse is highly individualized, evidenced by consumer-oriented language and a focus almost exclusively on user control and consent policy. As well as impacting the success of new policy in their respective contexts, this discursive divide has implications for transatlantic cooperation on data protection. In short, the discrepancy between these two actors may seriously hinder cooperation on data protection, or at least restrict it to little more than the minimum acceptable level. |
| Supervisor | Kurowska, Xymena |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/habrard_martin.pdf |
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