The Impact of the UK Human Rights Act 1998 on Privacy Protection in the Workplace

Abstract

Privacy is one of the central issues in the information society. New technologies pose new threats to privacy but they may also facilitate new ways of protecting it. Due to the generally accepted importance of privacy, many countries now have explicit legislation to support privacy protection. At the same time there are philosophical debates about privacy, its definitions, meanings, and limitations. In this chapter I present the current state of legal protection of privacy in the United Kingdom. In doing so, I will argue that there are different philosophical concepts of privacy that underpin different pieces of legislation. I will explore what this may mean for the justification of privacy protection and speculate where the future development may be heading.