Tratamiento frente a datoel problema de las categorías especiales

Abstract

This thesis analyses the adequacy of the European data protection model to face the challenges of the digital age. Specifically, it focuses on two elements that condition the protection regime: the concept of personal data and the so-called special categories. Through a holistic and gradual approach, in which the origins of the right to data protection, the legal culture that characterises the European system and the nature of the fundamental right are taken into consideration, the reasons that justify the existence of the special categories are highlighted and an alternative proposal is put forward, more in line with the idiosyncrasy of the European data protection model. In relation to the concept of personal data, it points out the convenience of broadening it, adopting an approach in which the reality of the processing and its risks have a higher relevance.