Profiling in the Public Sector under the General Data Protection Regulation

Abstract

Both public authorities and private corporations gather and store vast amounts of data from individuals. As the needs of citizens may span the purview of several authorities and sectors concurrently, the ability to draw data from a multitude of sources and create profiles of individuals may improve both service levels and accuracy of decision making of public authorities. This paper investigates the new rules in the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) balancing the many upsides of profiling and the inherent need for safeguarding the rights of the subjected individuals.