The United Nations data privacy system and its limits

ABSTRACT

While the United Nations (UN) pioneered in recognizing the impact of modern technological developments on (data) privacy as far back as 1968, little has so far been achieved in terms of introducing a truly global data privacy framework. The present UN data privacy framework is by and large a mere patchwork of rules that exhibit a number of weaknesses. This weak structure of the present framework is a result of political and ideological controversies of the Cold War era. This article considers the extent to which the current UN data privacy system provides protection to data privacy and highlights its major limitations. It concludes that the discourse at the UN set in motion, particularly in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, wields a potential to result in a major reform in the UN data privacy system.