Privacy and personal data protection

The right to privacy and personal data protection

Legal frame

The right to privacy and protection of personal data is guaranteed not only by national legislation – the Constitution of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and the Law on Personal Data Protection, but also by international instruments of the Council of Europe – European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR) and Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (Convention 108+), to which the Republic of Northern Macedonia is a signatory, as well as the legal framework of the European Union – the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the General Regulation on Personal Data Protection (GDPR).

ECHR protects the right of the individuals from arbitrary interference by public authority (the state). But, the right to privacy is not an absolute right. It can be restricted by the public authority if three conditions are cumulatively met:

  • The restriction of the right to privacy is determined by law;
  • The restriction has a legitimate purpose – protection of state and public security, economic well-being of the state, protection of order and prevention of crimes, protection of health and morals and protection of the rights and freedoms of others; and
  • Restriction is necessary in a democratic society.

The European Court of Human Rights’ case law abounds with a number of cases falling under Article 8 of the ECHR (right to privacy), namely: storage of information about an individual’s private life (including his/her business activities and connections to the “outside” world), monitoring and intercepting telephone and postal items, monitoring the workplace, using surveillance footage, protecting the reputation of an individual.

Convention 108+ protects individuals from abuse regarding the processing of personal data by the public or private sector, ensuring a higher degree of protection of so-called sensitive personal data, and at the same time regulates the international flow of personal data.

 

Personal data

Personal data includes any information relating to an identified natural person or an identifiable natural person (personal data subject), i.e. information about a person whose identity is obvious or can be established by additional information (e.g. name and surname, social security number, home address, credit card number, location data, IP address, consumer habits, etc.). Biometric, genetic and health data belong to the group of sensitive categories of personal data, and as such enjoy a higher degree of protection.

 

Special categories of personal data

By their nature, these data may pose a greater risk to data subjects in processing (e.g. to be subject to discrimination), which requires a higher degree of protection. These data may reveal racial or ethnic origin, political views, religious or other philosophical beliefs or membership in trade unions, as well as genetic data, biometric data, health data or data on sexual life or sexual orientation of the individual. For these reasons, the processing of these special categories is in principle prohibited and there are a limited number of conditions in which this processing is legal (e.g. if data is published by the personal data subject, if he/her has given explicit consent, if these data processing is regulated by the law on specific purpose in relation to the public interest or public health, employment or social protection). The contractual relationship with a personal data subject is not considered as a legal basis for legitimate processing of sensitive data, except in the presence of an agreement with a health professional subject to the obligation of official secrecy.

 

Form of storage of personal data

The form in which personal data is stored is irrelevant to the application of the rules on personal data protection. Written and oral communication may contain personal information as well as images, recordings / sounds from video surveillance cameras. Electronically recorded information, as well as printed information, fall into the realm of personal data. Personal data includes information about the person about his private life, professional activities, as well as public life. For example:
The evaluation conducted by the superior for the employee’s work, which is kept in his / her work file, is the personal data of the employee, regardless of whether it is completely or partially based on the individual opinion of the superior. Also, the salary for a specific job for a specific employee is considered as personal data of that employee. On the other hand, general salary information in a given company is not considered personal data.

 

Connection between the right to privacy and personal data protection

The right to privacy as a broader concept covers the protection of personal data as a narrower concept, but also covers other areas. The right to private life is not limited to the “inner” circle in which a person can freely choose his personal life. The right to privacy also includes the right to form and develop relationships with other human beings in the “outside” world. On the other hand, the protection of personal data is activated whenever there is processing of personal data, regardless of whether such processing entails interference in the private life of the individual.

 

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