Misuse and protection of personal data in the Republic of North Macedonia: new trends and challenges

Privacy is one of the most sensitive segments of human life, which makes it one of the most difficult phenomena to fully regulate. In the era of rapid development of the Internet, IC technologies and computer programs, and the widespread and uncontrolled use of social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter-X, TikTok), users recklessly and naively publish personal data without thinking about whether they could be subject to abuse by third parties. The abuse of personal data is gaining momentum, primarily due to the development of technology, and computer crime is taking on newer and more dangerous forms, such as: data theft, identity theft, computer fraud, hacking, data corruption, virus infection, malicious software (Malware, Adware, Spyware, Virus, Worms, Ransomware, Trojan, Keylogger). The security and confidentiality of personal data is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Personal Data Protection Act. In the Personal Data Protection Act, a personal data breach is defined as “any breach of security that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored, or otherwise processed”. Citizens are guaranteed protection against violations of personal integrity arising from the recording of data about them. In this paper, we will consider the civil, criminal, and ethical aspects of the protection of personal data and the protection of the right to privacy in the context of new trends and challenges.