Unlawful Data Processing Prevention and Strict Liability Regime Under EU GDPR

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the new special regulation on civil liability for unlawful processing of personal data and compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages - enacted pursuant to Art 82 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - with respect to the protection of the fundamental personal rights to confidentiality and protection of personal data. An axiological reading - through the prism of the new principle of accountability - of the new GDPR's strict liability regime, and in particular of the rediscovery of the remedy of subjective moral damages and of its sanctionatory nature, is proposed in the light of the GDPR, the Italian Privacy Code, the Civil Code and the most recent case law of the Supreme Court of Cassation (San Martino 2019).