- Data privacy is the adaptation to the Information Society of the fundamental right to privacy and private life, included by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), whose Article 12 states:
- Data privacy technologies are about technically enforcing the above right in the information society.
- The design of such privacy technologies requires high-level information protection expertise, which is lacking in transition countries and even in many developed countries due to:
- Lack of awareness of the population on the existing privacy threats (profiling, location tracking, etc.)
- Lack of pressure on the service and technology providers
- Lack of private investment in the development of privacy-preserving technologies
- Unless direct action is taken, the spread of the information society might result in serious privacy loss, especially in rapidly developing countries. The lack of privacy undermines most of all other fundamental rights (freedom of speech, democracy, etc.).
'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks'