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A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Discrimination and Data Protection Legislations

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Discrimination and Privacy in the Information Society

Part of the book series: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics ((SAPERE,volume 3))

Abstract

Departing from the ECJ’s Huber case where Germany was condemned for discriminatory processing of personal data and which suggests that there is a strong kin between data protection and discrimination issues, this chapter is an attempt to further compare the two fundamental rights - non-discrimination, and data protection.

Beyond their place in the EU legal order, their respective object or scope, this chapter will contend that these two human rights increasingly turn to the same mode of operation, including, inter alia, reliance upon administrative structures and procedures, and the endowment of citizens with a bundle of individual rights. We will argue that this similarity can be understood in the light of their nature as regulatory human rights, that is, embodying the logic of negative freedom.

The final section will examine situations of overlap between the rights, building upon the Huber and Test-Achats cases. This will lead to final conclusions on how to best articulate these rights.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vrije Universiteit, Brussel, Belgium

    Raphaël Gellert, Katja de Vries, Paul de Hert & Serge Gutwirth

Authors
  1. Raphaël Gellert
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  2. Katja de Vries
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  3. Paul de Hert
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  4. Serge Gutwirth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raphaël Gellert .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Law, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300 RA, Netherlands

    Bart Custers

  2. , Faculty of Math and Computer Science, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, 5600, Netherlands

    Toon Calders

  3. , Faculty of Law, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300 RA, Netherlands

    Bart Schermer

  4. , Faculty of Law, Haifa University, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Tal Zarsky

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Gellert, R., de Vries, K., de Hert, P., Gutwirth, S. (2013). A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Discrimination and Data Protection Legislations. In: Custers, B., Calders, T., Schermer, B., Zarsky, T. (eds) Discrimination and Privacy in the Information Society. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30487-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30487-3_4

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