Balancing privacy and public interest: ethical and legal aspects

Abstract

Against the backdrop of rapid digital transformation and the proliferation of data-driven technologies, the tension between personal data privacy and the public interest has become increasingly complex and inadequately addressed by existing regulatory frameworks. Although modern legal regimes, including the GDPR, provide advanced data protection mechanisms, they remain predominantly focused on procedural compliance and offer limited instruments for evaluating the ethical legitimacy of data-processing practices. This study develops an integrated ethical-legal approach to personal data governance by combining doctrinal legal analysis with ethical reasoning. The methodology is based on a comparative examination of major regulatory regimes (GDPR, PIPL, LGPD, and CCPA), analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and synthesis of contemporary legal and ethical theories. The study demonstrates that formally lawful data-processing practices may remain ethically problematic, particularly in the contexts of algorithmic decision-making, workplace monitoring, biometric surveillance, and transnational data flows. The comparative analysis reveals that existing regulatory models differ significantly in their underlying value orientations but none provides a comprehensive mechanism for assessing the substantive legitimacy of data processing beyond formal legal compliance. Based on these findings, the study identifies five interrelated criteria for evaluating the legitimacy of personal data processing—legitimacy of purpose, proportionality, transparency, accountability, and data-subject participation—and operationalises them within a structured assessment framework. The article further advances the theoretical debate by introducing the concept of digital solidarity as a normative principle that complements individual rights with collective responsibility in digital ecosystems. The findings contribute to existing scholarship by shifting the focus from procedural legality towards substantive ethical legitimacy and by providing an operational model applicable to regulatory analysis, ethical auditing, and digital governance policymaking.