Formation of the institute of personal data protection and experience of its implementation in the countries of the EU

The development of digital technologies in the modern world led to an increase in interference in the private life of a person and the number of human rights violations related to private life. Ukrainian legislation on personal data protection does not meet the latest trends and standards of the European Union (EU) in this area and needs to be updated. The article is intended to analyse the development of the institute of personal data protection in the world to identify ways to adapt the national legislation of Ukraine to the current personal data protection standards of the EU. To carry out the research, the following scientific methods were used: inductive, deductive, dialectical, analysis and synthesis, comparative legal, historical legal. According to the results of the research, the personal data protection institute has gone through a significant path of development from individual notions and concepts to a structured set of standards and tools legally established at the EU level. A characteristic feature of this development is the adoption of new legal acts on personal data protection, as well as increasingly strict and comprehensive regulation of issues related to personal data processing. Ukrainian personal data protection legislation, although historically improved in line with European standards, as of 2023 is based on the outdated Directive 95/46/EC, which has already been rejected by the EU. Compared to the legal systems of neighbouring countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, Ukrainian personal data protection legislation is not only inferior, but also significantly lags behind in terms of detail, definition of key terms and principles. The results of the research can be used in law-making work, in particular, when drafting a new bill of the basic data protection law and for further research on ways to improve Ukrainian laws and laws of other candidates for membership in the European Union on personal data protection