Project description
The project “Vectors of Data Disclosure” focused on the question of which legal, cultural, and behavioral economic factors influence the individual disclosure of personal data.
The investigation particularly considered five levels: The first level involves the national legislature (in the form of the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches), which makes the value decision on how personal data should be protected. On the second level, this “Law in the Books” is embedded in the cultural context of the respective country. This context influences the legislation, which in turn shapes the cultural context. Here, cultural traditions or practices become relevant, as well as factors like the concept of privacy, the value of autonomy over one’s own data, trust in actors, or the perception of personal data as more or less sensitive. The third level represents the actual impact of the law – the “Law in Action.” How the law manifests in practice can be indicated by how well a state is legally and practically equipped to enforce existing laws and how frequently these enforcement measures are applied (known as enforcement intensity). Along with this variable, the “Law in Action” can be measured through expert surveys, both in terms of the level of protection (which can be influenced by both legal and extralegal factors) and general satisfaction with the existing regulations. Ultimately, only the “Law in Action” can be perceived by the individual as the law on the fourth level. Based on this perception—whether or not it aligns with the “Law in the Books” (i.e., the legislative intent)—the individual either discloses data or refrains from sharing data on the fifth level.
At all these levels, the project team provided mono- and interdisciplinary insights into the functioning of individual factors. For instance, the information systems team developed a taxonomy for classifying legal requirements, distinguishing whether a regulatory instrument allows the individual control over their personal data (Self-determined Level of Privacy) or protects personal data without requiring the individual to take any specific action (Assured Level of Privacy). In a second step, the regulation can be differentiated based on whether it applies before or after data disclosure. This taxonomy forms the basis of the Regulatory Clustering developed by the legal team, which classifies regulatory instruments in the seven study countries and divides them into regulatory priorities according to the taxonomy. To align with the results of the Regulatory Clustering, which also serves as a tool for quantifying law, the cultural studies and information systems teams conducted empirical studies on the perceptions of experts and laypeople regarding the law, cultural influences, and data disclosure behavior. The cultural studies team integrated the disciplinary perspectives of the project into an overarching data disclosure model that accounts for the fact that data disclosure is multifactorial, situational, and context-dependent. It provides an overview of potential influencing factors on data disclosure and possible interactions within this model.
By combining the three disciplines, it was demonstrated that there are no direct linear causalities between the “Law in the Books” (Level 1) and individual data disclosure (Level 5). Instead, individual data disclosure is based on a complex interplay of (individual) behavioral economic and (collective) cultural and legal factors.
The project was completed by 30 March, 2024.
Contact
Project team
Prof. Dr. Moritz Hennemann M.Jur.
Project Manager, Chair of European and International Information and Data Law, University of Passau (Photo: Sandra Meyndt)
Prof. Dr. Kai von Lewinski
Chair of Public Law, Media Law and Information Law, University of Passau
Prof. Dr. Thomas Widjaja
Chair of Business Informatics with a focus on Business Information Systems, University of Passau
Timo Hoffmann
Research Assistant at the Chair for European and International Information and Data Law, University of Passau
Sebastian J. Kasper LL.M.
Research Assistant at the Chair of Public Law, Media and Information Law, University of Passau
Dr. Tim Kerstges
Research Assistant at the Chair of Public Law, Media and Information Law, University of Passau
Peer Sonnenberg
Research Assistant, Chair of Public Law, Media and Information Law | University of Passau
Martin Richthammer
Research Assistant at the Chair of Business Informatics with a focus on Business Information Systems, University of Passau
Dr. Veronika Thir
Research Assistant at the Chair of English Language and Culture, University of Passau
Anna-Maria Kipphardt
Research Assistant at the Chair of Criminal Law and Procedure, Criminology and Philosophy of Law, University of Passau
Publications
A Regulatory Clustering of Privacy Laws
The working paper constitutes a central component of the underlying project’s approach of allowing interdisciplinary comparison of the impact of different regulatory systems on individual behavior.
WOrking paper
Conference “Vectors of Data Disclosure”
The corresponding conference volume for the event in June 2022 features perspectives on international data protection law and other factors influencing data pricing decisions by Lemi Baruh, Lothar Determann, Jana Dombrowski, Timo Hoffmann, Martin Richthammer, Daniela Wawra, Thomas Widjaja, Normann Witzleb and Kai von Lewinski.
conference volume
Navigating Global Privacy Legislation
The research team examined various data protection regimes around the globe. It has published eight comprehensive reports on as diverse legal regimes as possible and has thus contributed to the development of a comprehensive map of the world’s data protection regimes.
The map provides an overview of the maze of privacy concepts and offers starting points for further research in the field of harmonisation of data protection and privacy law.
Overview | Country Reports
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