About Profiles, Profiling, Data Availability and AI: The Return of the Second Objective of the GDPR?

In its rulings on the GDPR, the EU Court of Justice refers almost exclusively to the first objective of the GDPR: ensuring a high level of data protection. This contribution argues that the Court may be compelled to include also the second objective of the GDPR – the free flow of personal data – into its analysis and to express itself on the implications of the twofold objective. This is prompted by recentUnion legislation aimed at unlocking data,which should foster technological development (in particular Artificial Intelligence) that relies on vast amounts of personal data. By explicitly integrating the second objective of the GDPR into its reasoning, the Court would further increase both the legitimacy of its rulings and of the GDPR itself.