Author Description

We live in an era in which privacy and data protection are daily news items. This tendency demonstrates that privacy and data protection are taken seriously in wide circles of society. Most of the time, however, issues relating to privacy and data protection are not newsworthy because these rights have been so well protected. The scandals are the items that make the news - the latest example being the US National Security Agency (NSA) affair, which has dominated the news for months. These news stories create a feeling of discomfort and lead to the diminishing of trust: diminishing trust of citizens in the companies they deal with, in their governments, in supranational entities such as the European Union, in the law, as well as diminishing trust between countries. In relation to privacy and data protection, this volume defines the restoration of this trust as the most pressing challenge. It reflects on the state of play in the area of privacy and personal data protection in Europe and the US at the start of 2014. The book discusses the issues from different perspectives, such as constitutional values and the role of the judiciary, the role of the legislator and independent control, and transatlantic relations. The book's contributions come from a large number of outstanding academic scholars, legal practitioners, regulators, and politicians from Europe and the US. All contributions are written in honor of Peter Hustinx, the first European Data Protection Supervisor, who stepped down at the beginning of 2014, after 10 successful years in office and after a long and impressive career in the area of privacy and data protection. The festschrift is recommended for everyone interested in privacy and data protection, and, more generally, in the complex relations between law and the information society.--