The Joint Committee on Human Rights has launched an inquiry into the right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the “Digital Revolution”. The inquiry will examine whether further safeguards to regulate the collection, use, tracking, retention and disclosure of personal data by private companies are required to protect human rights in the new digital age.
The key human right considered to be at risk is the right to private and family life under Article 8.
The Committee has also stated that freedom of expression (Article 10), freedom of assembly and association (Article 11) and prohibition of discrimination (Article 14) are also deemed to be at risk.
The Committee are now in the process of collecting written evidence of the threats posed to human rights by the processing of personal data by companies, and instances where those rights have been breached. The Committee have raised the following five questions and requested responses to be submitted online by 31 January 2019: