Privacy, controls, and new technology

In this chapter, the main supranational legal instruments on privacy and employee protection are analysed, followed by an explanation of EU law’s most important source: the GDPR is analysed to try to understand whether and if so, to what extent, it affects employees' data protection and what issues remain unresolved. Finally, the Italian legal framework is analysed; as shown below, it is characterised by having addressed the need to protect employees’ privacy and dignity in the workplace way before privacy rules were introduced. First, this chapter’s conceptual foundation is laid out to address the broad theme of protecting employees’ privacy. In addressing this issue, a preliminary question arises: why focus on privacy and data protection in relation to employment? Why focus on this perspective and keep it separate from the general issue of privacy and data protection of individuals? And why is it important to do so today?