Social aspects of democratic safeguards in privacy rights : a qualitative study of the European Union and China

Kovač, Polonca (author), Rudolf, Grega (author)

Purpose: The primary objective of the present research is to identify the basic tools and restrictions concerning the protection of privacy and personal data in the EU and China as two fundamentally different cultural systems. Based on the socio-cultural analysis of backgrounds, trends and expert assessments, the research aims to examine whether privacy protection standards, such as those provided by the GDPR in the EU, are sufficiently robust to endure the digital age. Two different cultural frameworks have been analysed in order to understand their influence on practical behaviours regarding the democratic safeguards in privacy rights enforcement in the EU compared with China. This is accomplished by comparing social control in the EU and the social credit system in China. Design/Methodology/Approach: Considering the administrative context, a combined qualitative approach is applied, including normative and dogmatic methods, literature analysis, sociological and historical methods, expert interviews, and comparative and axiological methods. Findings: The results of both theoretical and empirical parts of the research suggest that the stricter regulation in the EU compared to China – in the sense of more consistent protection of privacy and personal data as well as transparency rights – can be attributed to its democratic protection of human rights and more definitive regulations, particularly the GDPR. These major differences seem to create an even deeper gap in the future, to be explored scientifically and in practice. The authors conclude that authorities must actively guarantee the rights related to privacy and personal data protection, or else effective governance will lead to a surveillance society and erosion of individuals’ freedom as a valuable civilizational asset. Academic contribution to the field: The research contributes to administrative science by addressing one of the key concepts of modern public governance, namely the collision between the principles of effectiveness and transparency on the one hand and privacy on the other. The use of scientific methods paves the way for further comparisons. Practical Implications: The article provides a concise overview of the relevant literature and an analysis of the rules that underpin the implementation, evaluation and improvement of regulations, especially in the light of ICT development, e.g. in times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Originality/Value: The paper bridges the gap created by the differences in the understanding of privacy and public governance in the field in the EU and China based on cultural differences. The usual general or merely law- or technology-based analyses are upgraded with a combination of various research methods.

• Language: English
• Keywords: privacy rights, personal data protection, EU, democratic safeguards, China, control society, socio-cultural analysis
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 7-32
• Numbering: Vol. 20, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-137144
• UDC: 342:342.7
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2022.1.01
• COBISS.SI-ID: 110048515

Note

Povzetek v slov. na koncu publikacije, str. 167-168.

• Publication date in RUL: 21.06.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.
• Licensing start date: 31.05.2022

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Družbeni vidiki demokratičnih varoval na področju zasebnosti : kvalitativna študija Evropske unije in Kitajske

Abstract

Namen: Primarni cilj predmetne raziskave je identifikacija temeljnih orodij in omejitev pri varstvu zasebnosti in osebnih podatkov v Evropski uniji in na Kitajskem, tj. dveh bistveno različnih kulturnih sistemih. Prek družbeno-kulturne analize pravne regulacije, družbenih trendov in ekspertnih ocen je namen raziskave preučiti, ali so standardi varstva zasebnosti npr. po GDPR, ki velja v EU, dovolj trdni tudi v digitalni dobi. Predmet analize sta različni kulturni okolji, da se spozna njun vpliv na praktično delovanje v povezavi z demokratičnimi varovali pri uveljavljanju pravic zasebnosti v EU v primerjavi s Kitajsko. To se dosega s primerjavo družbenega nadzora in družbeno kreditnega sistema na Kitajskem. Zasnova/Metodologija/Pristop: Glede na upravnopravni kontekst je uporabljen kombiniran kvalitativni pristop, ki vključuje normativno-dogmatično metodo, analizo literature, sociološko in zgodovinsko metodo, ekspertni intervju, primerjalno in aksiološko metodo. Ugotovitve: Rezultati tako teoretičnega kot empiričnega dela raziskave kažejo, da je strožji pravni red v EU kot na Kitajskem, v smislu doslednejšega zagotavljanja zasebnosti in varstva osebnih podatkov ter transparentnosti, mogoče pripisati demokratičnemu varstvu človekovih pravic in določnejšim predpisom, zlasti GDPR. Te razlike bi lahko v prihodnje še povečale obstoječo vrzel, kar nedvomno spodbuja nadaljnje znanstveno in praktično preučevanje. Avtorja ugotavljata, da mora oblast aktivno zagotavljati pravice do zasebnosti in varstva osebnih podatkov, sicer učinkovitost vladanja vodi v družbo popolnega nadzora in propad posameznikove svobode kot civilizacijske pridobitve. Akademski prispevek k znanstvenem področju: Raziskava pomeni prispevek k upravnopravni znanosti, saj obravnava enega ključnih konceptov sodobnega javnega upravljanja, to je trk načel učinkovitosti in transparentnosti ter zasebnosti. Prek uporabe znanstvenih metod se omogoča nadaljnje primerjave v prostoru in času. Vpliv v praksi: Članek prinaša strnjen pregled relevantne literature in analizo predpisov, ki so temelj za izvajanje zakonodaje, njeno vrednotenje in izboljšave, zlasti ob razvoju IKT, npr. v obdobju pandemije covida-19. Izvirnost/Vrednost: Članek premošča vrzel, ki nastaja zaradi razlik v pojmovanju zasebnosti in javnega upravljanja na tem področju v EU in na Kitajskem, ki izhajajo iz kulturnih razlik. Običajne splošnejše ali le na pravo ali tehnologije oprte analize so nadgrajene s kombinacijo različnih metod raziskovanja.

• Keywords: pravice zasebnosti, varstvo osebnih podatkov, EU, demokratična varovala, Kitajska, družba nadzora, družbeno-kulturna analiza