General Information & FAQ

Term and Origin

In a legal context, data protection means, in particular, the protection of personal data, i.e. information that relates to a natural person.

This already indicates the origin of data protection: Data protection is an expression of the right to informational self-determination, which in turn is part of the general right to information privacy. It was originally designed as a defense against surveillance by the state (landmark case: ” Volkszählungsurteil”). Although the German Basic Law, therefore, does not provide for a distinct “Data Protection Article”, data protection, via Art. 2 para. 1 i.V.m. Art. 1 para. 1 GG, enjoys constitutional rank.

The Hessian home of the law firm KARST played a special role in the development of data protection law. The first data protection law was passed there in 1970. From then on, the legal area developed into a global phenomenon building up on important steps, such as the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and most recently the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) making it an integral part of any modern information society. With the Personal Data Protection Act, B.E. 2562 (2019), PDPA for short, Thailand has recently passed a modern data protection law.