Context as key: The protection of personal integrity by means of the purpose limitation principle

Abstract

One of the core principles of European Union data protection law, the purpose limitation principle, holds that personal data must be processed for specified, explicit, legitimate purposes, and not used in manners incompatible with those purposes. How the principle emerged around the world, how the two dimensions of the principle – purpose specification and compatibility – is to be understood in European Union data protection law, taking into account both Court of Justice of the European Union and European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, and how the principle relates to people’s expectations of respect for context, is explored in this chapter. Respect for individuals’ reasonable expectations, respect for context, and the purpose limitation principle’s compatible use dimension are often touted as separate notions, yet, as argued in this chapter, their natures intertwine and these facets may aid in assessing compatibility in a manner that preserves social expectations.