EU Data Protection and the Principle of Proportionality

Abstract

This paper explores the principle of proportionality in the context of EU data protection. The paper starts by setting out the basics of EU data protection at the EU level and explains why it is so interesting in the context of proportionality. The paper will briefly set out some of the main debate on proportionality before looking at some recent EU cases on data protection where the principle of proportionality has played a key role. The final part of the paper uses the Swedish derogations from the GDPR as a test case of a lack of proportionality.