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Abstract :
[en] In recent years, the digital transformation has significantly accelerated. Privacy and personal data regulations have proliferated globally, while major economic and geopolitical powers compete to project their own model worldwide. Among these powers is the European Union (EU), which advocates for a human-centric vision of digital transformation and relies on a robust regulatory framework. At the heart of this model are fundamental rights such as the rights to privacy and to personal data protection enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. Conversely, for example, the United States (US) model is rooted in free-market principles and embraces a limited role for the government. It is illustrative that no comprehensive federal privacy law exists yet in the US, whilst the EU has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an omnibus regulation that came into application in 2018. Scholars have paid significant attention to examining and comparing both models of digital transformation. However, the role of legislatures in upholding the rights to privacy and to personal data protection within each model remains overlooked. This limited academic interest is particularly evident regarding the European Parliament (EP), thereby neglecting its critical role as co-legislator in these matters within the EU model and its contribution to promoting a values-driven digital transformation globally. This contribution is particular relevant in a time of growing autocratization. Using process tracing as a method of empirical analysis, this paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature. It examines the role of the EP in shaping the EU human-centric approach to digital transformation by upholding the right to privacy and to personal data protection over time, especially regarding the GDPR.
