Data Protection Without Romance: The Power Asymmetries that the GDPR Does Counter

A clear and consensual conceptualization of the power asymmetries that data protection seeks to address is missing. That modern bigness translates into multifaceted power issues results in multiple branches of the law being increasingly called upon to respond, illustrated by the recent adoption of the EU digital package. Such an endeavor requires consistency between them and thus also a clear vision of which legal framework addresses which power issue(s) and how. To spin a musical metaphor, for the choir to be harmonious requires that every singer sings their own score. This article unpacks the nature and ways in which data protection addresses power asymmetries through ‘data control’. It does it through an enquiry into the conceptual relationship between ‘data’ and ‘control’ or power under data protection.