A New Understanding of Privacy: From the Right to Be Alone to the Informative Self-Determination

Abstract

The respect for privacy as a fundamental right presents an increasingly urgent requirement, whereas the right to privacy it is essential to human dignity.  It is urgent the construction of a new constitutionalism of the electronic space where privacy protection will constitute an essential right in the consolidation of social identity and dignity. The technology, despite allowing the construction of a private sphere more diversified, becomes more vulnerable as its exposure becomes constant. It justifies the growing need for a further strengthening of the legal protection of privacy. The primary objective of this research is to seek a new valuation of human, social and juristic scientific and technological innovations used by public and private institutions. To attain this end, it will be adopted the Civil Constitutional Law’s methodology, taking as theoretical framework privacy in surveillance society, an object theme of deep studies by the Italian jurist Stefano Rodotà.