Identifiability and the applicability of data protection to big data

Big data holds much potential, but it can also have a negative impact on individuals, particularly on their privacy and data protection rights. Data protection law is the point of departure in the discussion about big data; it is widely regarded as the answer to big data’s negative consequences. Yet a closer look at the criteria for applicability of EU data protection law reveals a number of weaknesses in the data protection law approach. Because the material scope of EU data protection law is dependent on the identifiability of individual, data protection only partially applies to the big data process. Therefore, in spite of its importance, data protection law is insufficient to protect individuals from big data’s potential harms.