The Protection of Personal Information and the Principle of Proportion in Information Societies

With the realization that the police's personal information gathering activities can violate the authority to decide one's information guaranteed by the Constitution, many people are interested in the legal terms of the police's information gathering and handling. The police's personal information gathering activities imply both the purpose of public welfare and order and the risk of violation of basic rights of citizens, their effective balance is critical. In this respect, this study reviews the principle of proportion as a principle of control of personal information gathering and handling (police intelligence activities) by state to discuss its implications on legislation.