Meaningful Transparency through Data Rights: A Multidimensional Analysis

Abstract

This chapter assesses and evaluates the versatile nature and function of data transparency rights (notably Articles 12-15 and 22 GDPR), focusing on the actualisation and operationalisation of transparency, the formation of (data subject) control and the mitigation of power asymmetries in the digital society. In an effort to better ascertain the actual range and value of data transparency rights, the chapter develops and advances a modular and multidimensional framework through which these rights can be further contextualised. In this regard, three broad dimensions are identified and explored: (i) the subjective experiences of the data subject (the data subject dimension), (ii) the wider regulatory conditions in which data rights operate (the legal dimension), and (iii) the socio-technical environment in which data rights are exercised (the socio-technical dimension). This multidimensional prism offers a nuanced perspective on data transparency rights through which these rights can be critically reflected upon, evaluated and further developed. In doing so, the chapter presents an engagement with data transparency rights that is both contextual and goal-oriented. As such, it aims to vindicate data transparency rights’ versatility and hopes to stimulate their potential towards more transparency and empowerment, curbing the power asymmetries characterising today’s digital society.