Extraterritorial application of the GDPR: promoting European values or power?

This article examines whether the territorial scope of the EU General Data Protection Regulation promotes European values. While the regulation received international attention, it remains questionable whether provisions with extraterritorial effect support a power-based approach or a value-driven s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Oskar Josef Gstrein, Andrej Janko Zwitter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society 2021-09-01
Series:Internet Policy Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://policyreview.info/node/1576
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Summary:This article examines whether the territorial scope of the EU General Data Protection Regulation promotes European values. While the regulation received international attention, it remains questionable whether provisions with extraterritorial effect support a power-based approach or a value-driven strategy. Developments around the enforceability of a ‘right to be forgotten’, or the difficulties in regulating transatlantic data flows, raise doubts as to whether unilateral standard setting does justice to the plurality and complexity of the digital sphere. We conclude that extraterritorial application of EU data protection law currently adopts a power-based approach which does not promote European values sustainably. Rather, it evokes wrong expectations about the universality of individual rights.
ISSN:2197-6775