Is the Right to Data Privacy Considered a Human Right?

New trends in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data mining raise important ethical questions about data privacy. When countries consider data privacy a human right, there are greater legal protections for an individual’s personal data footprint to remain private unless the individual explicitly consents. These legal protections provide greater oversight of technology-related companies and research involving the new capabilities of machine learning and data mining. Comparisons of major world powers reveal that public policy regarding data privacy reflects a country’s attitude toward technology, form of governance, historic value of personal privacy, and amount of technology-based businesses in its economic system. Differences between international policies regarding data rights is predicted to impact the global exchange of technology and information. Additionally, international laws are currently unequipped to address the economic concerns that will arise from these legal differences between countries such as the United States and United Kingdom