Andmekaitseõiguse

Andmekaitseõigus refers to the legal framework governing the protection of personal data. In Estonia, this field is primarily regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union, which is directly applicable, and the Estonian Data Protection Act (Isikuandmete kaitse seadus). These laws establish a set of rules and principles that organizations must follow when collecting, processing, storing, and transferring personal data of individuals.

The core principles of data protection include lawfulness, fairness, and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and confidentiality. Individuals, often referred to as data subjects, have specific rights under these regulations, such as the right to access their data, rectify inaccuracies, erase their data (the right to be forgotten), restrict processing, object to processing, and the right to data portability.

Organizations processing personal data are obligated to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the security of the data. This includes appointing a data protection officer in certain cases, conducting data protection impact assessments for high-risk processing activities, and maintaining records of processing activities. Supervisory authorities, such as the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon), are responsible for monitoring compliance with data protection laws and enforcing penalties for violations. The aim of andmekaitseõigus is to safeguard the fundamental right to privacy and ensure that individuals have control over their personal information in an increasingly digital world.