Could wearable technology transform the

traditional concept of habeas corpus?

By Elena Falletti (Carlo Cattaneo University, Italy)

III International Week 2019 – PhD-BBS session

School of Economics and Business

University of Zaragoza, April 1st – 5th 2019

Outline
● What is privacy?
● What are “wearable devices”?
● Habeas corpus, habeas data and wearable devices
● Sensitive cases
● Legal overview in a comparative perspective
● Transformative concept of habeas corpus
● Conclusion
What is privacy?
● Privacy, in an age of invasive electronic
communication, should be a fundamental right.
● Other views support that privacy has to be treated
as an additional service that the user can buy if
markets are interested in it.
● Indeed, the strict contact between the user’s body
and the wearable device may give the impression
that privacy is a “plus” service included with the
WD product.
Sharing personal daily life and
privacy

Sharing the WDs collected personal data through social

networks by users/consumers could be a problem,
specifically:
- data forgery
- defamation
- discrimination
- health care
- labour context
Privacy, human body and
daily life

Privacy regards an individual fundamental

right, and personal data collected through
WD (or through other devices that are in
close contact with user’s body and life)
have to be strongly protected
What are “wearable devices”?

● “Internet of things” category

● No specific definition
1. WD manages (massive) personal data
(storage)
● 2. WD communicates such data to third parties
● Positive effects
● Discrimination issues
Habeas corpus, habeas data
and wearable devices

● Historical evolving of Habeas Corpus as a

guarantee of personal freedom

● Protecting prisoners from unauthorized overseas

transfert

● Comparison with personal data transfert today

Habeas corpus, habeas data
and wearable devices

Although personal data are intangible,

they deal with te projection of the
individual as a physical person, so
they deserve an extension of
warranties in the physical sense
BVerfG (Germany), 27th
February 2008 (BvR 370/07)

The existence of the right of any telematic

technologies user to be entitled to his/er
freedom as an expression of his/er digital
home where the individual encloses his/er
data, collected in webmail, or a laptop, or a
device for daily use
Business model perspective

Business-oriented view
considering privacy as a paid
service for WD consumer, rather
than a fundamental right
protecting sensitive data
Transformative concept of
privacy

The personal data are parte of

the human body and belong to
the body of the rights holder
because of this, personal data
should be treated like a subject
matter of ownership
Transformative concept of
privacy

In this sense, and in conclusion, a

transformative concept of privacy helps
overcome objections about the non-
physicality/immateraility of the data
relative to the physicality/materiality of
the human bodies, which are themselves
the actual source and object of the data