Ambient intelligence and the right to privacy : the challenge of detection technologies

Unprecedented advances in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and their involvement in most of private and public activities are revolutionizing our daily life and the way we relate to our environment. If, on the one hand, the new developments promise to make people’s lives more comfortable or more secure, on the other hand, complex social and legal issues arise, in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms. The objective of this study is to envisage some of the main legal challenges posed by the new Ambient Intelligence technologies (AmI) and in particular by the new security enforcement technologies for privacy and data protection.Introduction - 1 The increasing use of social control technologies - 5 Privacy vs security issues - 6 Smart technologies in the ‘prevention age’ - 9 A preface - 9 How the increasing security measures post 9/11 affect the fundamental right(s) of privacy - 10 Profiling techniques and general concerns for HR framework - 11 Data-mining techniques (or… what if algorithms decide for us?) - 15 Biometric profiling and other features of AmI: old and new threats for HR - 16 Strengths and weaknesses of data protection legal framework - 19 Towards an Ambient Intelligent law - 21 Detection technologies - 23 Historical and legal context - 23 Counter-terrorism practices and conditions for privacy limitations - 26 Impact on other related rights - 27 ‘Permissible’ detection technologies in light of HR - 28 Some applications of detection technologies and related risks for privacy - 31 The gradual expansion of Full Body Scanners and the increasing concerns for HR - 34 Extension of the security measures and growth of a ‘culture of fear’ - 39 AmI security scenarios and the ECHR. Does Art 8 ECHR still exert a ‘dynamic influence’ on new surveillance technologies? - 40 Soft surveillance technologies anchored to HR - 43 The Marper case (or…the careful consideration of the necessity principle) - 44 Implications of new surveillance practices on other rights and the relevance of privacy protection - 47 ‘Controlling’ technologies. Smart technologies and the new risks of stigmatization - 49 The value of Self-determination in new technological contexts - 51 The social dimension of privacy right(s) - 54 Challenges and opportunities under the Lisbon Treaty - 56 A new comprehensive (legal-technical) framework? Concluding remarks - 60 REFERENCES - 63Published version of EUI LLM thesis, 201