From: Yona Maro
Privacy is increasingly being challenged by new technologies and practices. The technologies facilitate the growing collection and sharing of personal information. Sensitive personal data (including biometrics and DNA makeup) are now collected and used routinely. Public records are being disclosed over the Internet. In response to this set of circumstances, more than 60 countries have adopted comprehensive laws that give individuals some control over the collection and use of these data by public and private bodies.
Several major international conventions have long been in place in Europe, and new ones are emerging in Africa and Asia. At the same time, the public’s right to information is becoming widely accepted. RTI laws are now common around the world, with legislation adopted in almost 90 countries.
Access to information is being facilitated through new information and communications technologies, and Web sites containing searchable government records are becoming even more widely available. International bodies are developing conventions, and relevant decisions are being issued by international courts.
This paper will examine the two rights and the conflicts that arise, and will describe institutional models to ensure the exercise of both rights. It will present short case studies from four countries (Ireland, Mexico, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom) that have adopted different models for addressing the conflicts, describing how those models work.