Can a legal person exercise data protection rights granted to a natural person?

Mokslinėje literatūroje, duomenų apsaugos taikymas ir probleminiai aspektai daugiausiai analizuojami per fizinio asmens prizmę, t. y. nekvestionuojant duomenų apsaugos taikomumo kitiems subjektams. Tuo tarpu klausimas, ar juridiniam asmeniui turėtų būti garantuotos duomenų apsaugos teisės, kuriomis naudojasi fizinis asmuo nėra paliečiamas ir plačiai analizuojamas. Pagrindine problema laikoma fizinių asmenų ir juridinių asmenų atskirtis santykyje su duomenų apsauga. Baigiamojo darbo tikslas yra ištirti ar fiziniam asmeniui suteiktomis tam tikromis duomenų apsaugos teisėmis gali pasinaudoti juridinis asmuo. Teorinėje darbo dalyje atskleidžiamas duomenų apsaugos ir privatumo ryšys, privatumo susietumas su duomenų apsauga ir juridiniu asmeniu. Įvertinama skirtinga fizinių ir juridinių asmenų interesų įtaka atitinkamai duomenų apsaugai. Tiriamojoje darbo dalyje pasitelkiant darbo pradžioje esančią medžiagą analizuojamas teisinis reguliavimas ir nustatoma, ar juridinis asmuo gali pasinaudoti tam tikromis duomenų apsaugos teisėmis, konkrečiai teise susipažinti su duomenimis, teise būti informuotam ir teise prieštarauti. Darbe prieinama prie išvados, kad juridinis asmuo gali pasinaudoti tirtomis fiziniam asmeniui suteiktomis duomenų apsaugos teisėmis tik netiesiogiai ir ne savo interesais. Galimybė juridiniam asmeniui pasinaudoti duomenų apsaugos teisėmis atsiranda kuomet: 1) duomenų valdytojas renka duomenis apie fizinius ir juridinius asmenis ir jų neatskiria, tokiu būdu duomenis tvarkanti sistema sukurta taip, kad atitiktų duomenų apsaugos taisykles, automatiškai taiko jas ir juridinio asmens duomenims; 2) fizinio asmens interesai ginami per juridinį asmenį.The area of data protection law is usually associated with the protection of a natural person, as it was created on the basis of the right to a private life, autonomy and dignity. These rights relate only to a natural person and therefore legal entities cannot use them when interpreting the rights in a standard way. Traditionally, privacy and data protection are restricted to natural persons, but these doctrines are now being interpreted extensively to include legal persons. Considering the fact that data protection in the European Union is oriented towards a natural person, it is necessary to clarify how this protection can be improved, what legal solutions are needed for legal persons to use it. A legal person can benefit from an analysis of the rights or data protection rights granted to a natural person because the problem has not yet been extensively researched and solved. So far, the rules to protect the privacy of natural persons are usually based on the concepts of personal data and the data subject. The aim of the final thesis is to investigate whether a legal person can benefit from the data protection rights granted to a natural person. To achieve it, the following tasks were set: 1) to establish the relationship between data protection and privacy; 2) to disclose the interests of a natural and legal person in relation to data protection; 3) to analyze the right of access, the right to be informed and the right to object legal regulation; 4) determine whether a legal person can exercise the data protection rights mentioned above. The analysis includes three data protection rights: the right of access; the right to be informed; right to object. These rights have been chosen because of their potential applicability not only to natural persons but also to legal persons. The work focuses on the level of the European Union. The theoretical part of the work reveals the relationship between data protection and privacy, the link between privacy, data protection and legal personality. The impact of different interests of natural and legal persons on relevant data protection is assessed. It is concluded that there is competition and conflict between the interests of natural and legal persons, and it is difficult to extend the application of data protection to legal persons, especially considering the different weight of interests. Recognizing that the right to information is more important than the protection of legal person data, the data of a legal person is not stored at the level of personal data. Using the conclusions of the theoretical part of the thesis, the research part analyses legal regulation and determines whether a legal person can use certain data protection rights, namely the right to access data, the right to be informed and the right to object. The thesis concludes that a legal entity can only exercise the data protection rights granted to a natural person indirectly and not in its own interest.Teisės fakulteta