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In the 1970s, the progress in data processing and the increased possibilities in the use of telecommunications lead to concerns that Article 8 of EHCR was no longer sufficient to protect “the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. Large mainframes were introduced allowing big companies and public administrations to improve the collection, processing and sharing of the personal data of millions of people, using large databases. As a result, a need was felt for new standards that would allow individuals to exercise more control over their personal information. At the same time, international trade required the free international flow of information. The challenge was once again to find a balance between these aims.

A new effort to reconcile the protection of privacy and the need for free international flow of personal data came from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This organization, founded on 30 September 1961, aims to promote policies designed to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment, and a rising standard of living in member as well as non-member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy.

Figure 1.3 OECD logo

In 1980, the OECD developed the “Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Trans-border flows of Personal Data”, providing basic rules concerning the protection of personal data and privacy and on cross-border data flow. The aim was to help harmonize the data protection laws between countries. The Guidelines were not legally binding, but intended as a basic framework for national data protection law worldwide, introducing the set of data protection principles that we find today in GDPR Article 5. These principles will be discussed in detail in Part II of this book.