Privacy: a matter of democracy. Why democracy needs privacy and data protection

The amount of data available online goes beyond anything known before and is now being measured in exabytes. 1 This opens up entirely new possibilities for data analysis and knowledge. At the same time, big data pose new challenges to data protection and push it to its limits. The principles of big data structurally contradict the principles of data protection law. One radical consequence would be to completely abrogate data protection. ... The amount of data online is increasing exponentially. 2 Simultaneously, new methods are being created to gain new information and knowledge from this abundance of data. Every type of Internet usage leaves behind certain data traces. 3 This is obvious in the self-portrayals in social media. There, the purpose of Internet use is to leave traces. 4 This applies to blog posts, comments or profiles on Facebook or Instagram. Here people reveal an astonishingly large amount of private information about themselves. 5 Less obvious but just as clear are the tracks left when surfing online or the active use of web applications such as online shopping or home banking. 6 In addition, there are even passive data traces that are created without any actions on the part of the affected user. 7 That means: data can be generated about people who were not even active online or in certain applications.