An Analysis of the GDPR Compliance Issues Posed by New Emerging Technologies

Abstract New emergent technologies, like cloud computing, blockchain, the ‘internet of things’, and artificial intelligence (AI), have received significant attention from research and industry. Public and private organisations benefit from these technologies, but the privacy of individuals is threatened. This research paper, by Varda Mone and CLV Sivakumar, analyses the existing data protection laws with respect to new emerging technologies like AI, big data, and algorithms. The purpose is first, to discuss and analyse the impact and emergence of modern concepts like big data, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), Cloud computing, and the ‘internet of things’, etc mainly in light of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) provisions. The article examines the challenges of GDPR compliance posed by the features of these technologies, both individually and collectively. Due to the unique features of these technologies, we are able to identify areas of compliance that needed attention. With regard to the compliance issues identified, we discuss possible solutions as well as raise new questions for further investigation. It is not an exhaustive assessment of these fields but an attempt is made to shed light on a few of them from a data protection perspective.