Data Privacy and GDPR Handbook

2A Brief History of Data Privacy

What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.

— Victor Hugo

The construct of individual privacy forms the basis of the current discussion and debates around data privacy. In this context, we present a brief historical overview of the concept of individual privacy to construct the paradigm for development of applicable laws.

2.1 Privacy as One’s Castle

“A home is one’s castle” was a simple, adequate, and robust framework for its time. It was one of the earliest cases on the Right to Privacy pronounced in 1604 by Sir Edward Coke in the King’s Bench of England.¹ This elementary construct was fit for the times, as it addressed the private life of individuals within their homes and their rights to be left alone from public life. The doctrine was simple because the social life and modes of communication between people were eyes and speech.

The legal construct for protection of individual privacy has evolved since then. Over time it grew with the evolving technologies, but laws were rarely ahead of the curve in preventing abuse. Every development in the right to privacy follows the same story: a new technology is discovered: it starts being used commonly: the State finds a way to use the technology in law enforcement: and then the public starts to recognize the need for greater privacy.

This pattern has led to gradual growth of the individual right, either by law or judicial pronouncement, extending it ...