There is no simple solution to balancing the sometimes competing rights of access to information and protection of privacy, “but most issues can be mitigated through the enactment of clear definitions in legislation, guidelines, techniques, and oversight systems,” according to a report by David Banisar, Senior Legal Counsel for Article 19, the London-based freedom of expression group.
The report is the sixth in a series of reports on access to information issues published by the World Bank Institute.
“Of key importance is that governments take care when writing the laws to ensure that the access to information and data protection laws have compatible definitions of personal information,” Banisar says in his conclusion. “They should adopt appropriate public interest tests that allow for careful balancing of the two rights.”
“Finally, they should create appropriate institutional structures that can balance these rights and ensure that data protection and right to information officials work together, even if they represent different bodies,” he states.
The report, titled “The Right to Information and Privacy: Balancing rights and managing conflicts,” says that more than 50 countries have adopted both privacy and right to information laws. Case studies in the report cover Ireland, Mexico, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
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