On December 31st, 1996, Italy became the most recent country in Europe, followed only by Greece, to adopt a law regulating the protection of privacy. Paradoxically, Italy has a history of producing authors such as professor Rodotà, who have written some of the most influential works on this subject. Notwithstanding the Italian legislator’s delay, the law of 1996, which followed the European Directive regarding the protection of personal data, is regarded as a modern concept of privacy. Today’s understanding of this concept refers to the protection of the individual rather than the 19th century interpretation that focused on one’s « right to be left alone ». Through its evolution, the concept of privacy, defined as the restriction of accessing a person’s private information, has been transformed to mean the control of information in relation to a person. The modern notion of privacy naturally is closely associated with the development of the following foundations: our right to control, to correct and to delete information about ourselves. On that fact, it is important to bring attention to the double system created to authorize the licit handling of information. Only through the demonstration of one’s clear consent can another party be allowed to access the consenting individual’s personal information. However, when the issue concerns accessing « sensitive » data, permission from the « Garant » will be needed in addition to the party's expressed agreement. On the other hand, no permission is required if the information serves an exclusively personal goal, or for accessing « anonymous » data, where the identification of the concerned party is withheld. The privacy law of 1996 also establishes a regime of personal liability which is considered especially interesting: article 18 permits the application of article 2050 of the Italian Civil Code (exercising dangerous activities), and article 29 allows damages for non patrimonial prejudice to be granted (this disposition is imperative, in concordance with article 2059 of the Italian Civil Code). The following article examines the application of such norms to the Internet.
La protection de la vie privée : brève analyse de la situation italienne
Giovanni Maria Riccio
2001-01-01
Abstract
On December 31st, 1996, Italy became the most recent country in Europe, followed only by Greece, to adopt a law regulating the protection of privacy. Paradoxically, Italy has a history of producing authors such as professor Rodotà, who have written some of the most influential works on this subject. Notwithstanding the Italian legislator’s delay, the law of 1996, which followed the European Directive regarding the protection of personal data, is regarded as a modern concept of privacy. Today’s understanding of this concept refers to the protection of the individual rather than the 19th century interpretation that focused on one’s « right to be left alone ». Through its evolution, the concept of privacy, defined as the restriction of accessing a person’s private information, has been transformed to mean the control of information in relation to a person. The modern notion of privacy naturally is closely associated with the development of the following foundations: our right to control, to correct and to delete information about ourselves. On that fact, it is important to bring attention to the double system created to authorize the licit handling of information. Only through the demonstration of one’s clear consent can another party be allowed to access the consenting individual’s personal information. However, when the issue concerns accessing « sensitive » data, permission from the « Garant » will be needed in addition to the party's expressed agreement. On the other hand, no permission is required if the information serves an exclusively personal goal, or for accessing « anonymous » data, where the identification of the concerned party is withheld. The privacy law of 1996 also establishes a regime of personal liability which is considered especially interesting: article 18 permits the application of article 2050 of the Italian Civil Code (exercising dangerous activities), and article 29 allows damages for non patrimonial prejudice to be granted (this disposition is imperative, in concordance with article 2059 of the Italian Civil Code). The following article examines the application of such norms to the Internet.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
