The GDPR and the LIBE Study on the Use of Hacking Tools by Law Enforcement Agencies

Digital information is, today, at the center of the cultural, social, technological and political discussions, above all with reference to its protection. In the age of big data, automated processing of information, large-scale use of algorithms and profiling systems, the risk of losing control over data and the fear of activities carried out in violation of the rights of the individuals, are very real. Over the last two years, in the context of the initiative that led to the adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) and in some parts of a study commissioned by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the use of certain investigative tools by Law Enforcement agencies, data protection has been in the center of the legal debate. The GDPR places the person in the core of its protection system, and protects the individuals through the protection of their data. The LIBE Commission study, while moving from a different point of view more connected to the protection of civil rights during investigations, evaluates, at some point, the risks of individual’s data processing without proper guarantees. In this essay, the two documents will be presented, trying to draw some common conclusions.