Data Protection Law, Approaching Its Rationale, Logic and Limits

by Lee A. Bygrave

Despite the proliferation of data protection laws (or privacy protection laws) in many countries, uncertainty still reigns as to who or what such laws actually protect. Most data protection laws seem to have been drawn up rather diffusely, with the justification that the huge variety of types of information and specific contexts give rise to a complexity that cannot be guessed at as information technology continues to develop.

Nevertheless, as this ground-breaking book demonstrates, it is essential to understand as best we can why data protection laws are passed, what their regulatory mechanisms are, and wherein lies their particular effectiveness.

Data Protection Law approaches such an analysis along three major avenues of

456 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2002