Protection of Personal Data in Documents: Application of the Law on Personal Data Protection in Serbia and Abroad

Abstract

The rapid and continuous development of information technologies that encompasses almost all spheres of social life, imposes the key issue of protecting the privacy personal data, the issue of their availability, the way of their storage, processing, transmission and use. The contemporary concept of privacy puts emphasis on information control, security and data protection in computer information systems. Protection of privacy primarily concerns the issue of protection against abuse, fraud, embezzlement and deliberate or accidental damage. This paper covers several key issues: what are the mechanisms for protecting personal data in documents; is it feasible to achieve higher security of computer systems in terms of data protection; is it possible to limit the distribution of certain types of data (medical reports, financial institutions, schools); what is done regarding data protection in terms of establishing laws, regulations and standards. From the point of view of archivists and archival staff in the era of digitalization of archival material when it becomes accessible and available for use, the protection of personal data in documents is certainly an issue that deserves special attention and consideration. The paper shall provide an overview on the up to date achievements in this field within the archival services in our country and abroad.