We are pleased to announce a new blog post co-authored by LSTS researchers, Professor Paul De Hert and Affiliate Researcher Anja Dekhuijzen, published recently on the European Law Blog.
The piece offers a critical reflection on how an important element of the proportionality test, “necessity” is perceived. Among legal philosophers, debate over neccesity’s structure is far from settled. Does it mean less or least intrusive means? Where to draw the line between the two? The implications are not merely theoretical. Less intrusive means applies to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR’s legitimate interests (according to the CJEU), whereas least intrusive means are required for Article 5(1)(c) GDPR’s data minimization. Anja and Paul discuss necessity via Alexy, Brems and Lavrysen. In EU personal data protection law, CJEU rulings give clarity but leave questions; ECtHR may enrich the debate.
This publication builds further on Anja's presentation delivered at the Data Protection Scholars Network (DPSN) event for International Data Protection Day 2025, titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Assessing the Usability of Proportionality via Article 6(1)(f) GDPR in the Context of the Artificial Intelligence Act” (23 January 2025).
Read the full article here: https://www.europeanlawblog.eu/pub/lm9i7ggb/release/1