The Organic Law of Data Protection and Digital Rights (LOPD)1, approved on last November 21st, adapts to spanish law the regulations of the General Regulation of Data Protection of the European Parliament2, dealing with issues related to internet privacy. Thanks to the title X of this law Spain will become pioneer in recognition of many digital rights, although the majority are amplifications of rights which are already recognized in other laws or applications of basic worldwide digital rights. Nevertheless it was critized the absence of public consultation and the intransparancy of negotiations to regulate aspects which affect named basic rights.
The law includes rights like Internet neutrality, which would prevent establishing of prioritized “fast lines” for the priviledged able to pay them, or the right of “digital disconnection in the work environment” (the only one filtered during the period of negociations3) and due this no company is allowed to contact their employees outside of working hours and during their rest periods through social networks or personal mobile phone. Also recognized are are other rights like “digital education” which adds a “digital competence” to those laws who are already existing, although this one is already considered as a basic competence in Primary Education since 20144.
Other more controverse laws have been the “right of amendment in the internet“, which has been blamed of already existing in a previous law from 19845 exactly for the same which causes a duplication of legislation. The critics and one complaint of the PDLI6, obliged the government to modify the law7. It was also critized the “right of be forgotten in the internet” questionedfor being too lazy and put at risk the freedom of information. The origins of this law can be found in a judgement of the European Court of Justice against the company Google8.
Maybe the critics of intransparency were initially reviewed, or the agreement of other hasty decisions and intransparencies in the field of networks, like the Order against the “Digital Catalan Republic”9, which have led the government to open a public consultation to the Charter of Digital Rights, the law where are developing in major profundity the rights indicated in title X of the LOPD10. In any case the information will remain the battlefield from which many of our freedoms will be restricted or regained.
1 https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2018-16673
2 https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2018-16673
3 https://www.eldiario.es/tecnologia/derecho-desconexion-digital-trabajador-garantizara_1_1920084.html
4 https://www.eldiario.es/tecnologia/derecho-desconexion-digital-trabajador-garantizara_1_1920084.html
5 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1984-7248
6 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1984-7248
7 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1984-7248
8 https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1984-7248
9 https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2019/11/05/pdfs/BOE-A-2019-15790.pdf
10 https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2019/11/05/pdfs/BOE-A-2019-15790.pdf
More Information:
Organic Law of Data Protection and Digital Rights (LOPD)
Become Interest:
THE STATE AGAINST “DISINFORMATION”
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