Privacy in Action: Alan Dahi, Data Protection Lawyer at noyb

Alan Dahi is a data protection lawyer at noyb, a European non-profit that is using strategic litigation to enforce our fundamental right to data protection and privacy.

For our latest Privacy in Action interview, our German team connected with Alan Dahi.

Alan Dahi is an international data protection lawyer at noyb. Before starting at noyb, Alan studied law in Germany and other various EU countries. noyb, co-founded by Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems, is a European non-profit committed to launching court cases in support of EU privacy law and GDPR. Startpage has supported noyb’s work from the very beginning. To read more about our partnership with noyb, read here.

Interview with Alan Dahi

Startpage: Fill in the blank: Privacy is ___.

Alan Dahi: A natural need.

Startpage: Why is data protection important to you? In your line of work? In your personal life?

Alan Dahi: The protection of personal data is an important part of a free society. I am happy to be able to live in such a society and I want to do my part.

Startpage: What do you do as a data protection lawyer at NOYB? What is your role and what topics do you deal with?

Alan Dahi: As data protection lawyers at noyb, we investigate and challenge obvious disregards of data privacy rights of private bodies. Far too many companies like to look the other way when it comes to their obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Startpage: NOYB is a non-profit organization that fights for the enforcement of data protection across Europe. How do you work and what are the greatest successes that you have achieved since you were founded?

Alan Dahi: We look for cases that have the greatest possible impact. For an overview of our activities, I would like to refer you to our website. I would also like to explicitly mention our ongoing efforts to get some regulators to act – e.g. the Irish regulator. Our complaints can often be decided very clearly. There are no difficult legal issues behind it. But they are still not decided or their decision takes a disproportionately long time. If we can change that, a lot will happen in the world of data protection.

Startpage: What is Europe doing well when it comes to data protection and where does it need improvement? Is the current legislation sufficient?

Alan Dahi: The law is there and the law is mostly good. What is missing is proper enforcement. Some data protection authorities are far too hesitant in carrying out their duties. That needs to change.

Startpage: The subject of data protection is often misunderstood. What is a common assumption about privacy that you would like to get rid of once and for all?

Alan Dahi: Due to GDPR, laypeople often believe that you have to give your consent everywhere – an “OK” for annoying cookie banners, annoying ticks, etc. That’s not accurate. Most cookie banners do not comply with data protection regulations, and many consents are unnecessary and ineffective. Implementing data protection correctly would make the world easier, not more complicated!

Startpage: What are the things that people can do to better protect their online privacy?

Alan Dahi: Before using a service, take notice of its business model. If the business model is based on using your personal information, your privacy is probably better off elsewhere.

Startpage: Which people or organizations have encouraged and/or inspired you to devote yourself to the protection of personal data?

Alan Dahi: Lots of different sources! Bruce Schneier’s contributions and Cory Doctorow’s novels are both informative and inspiring. The RISKS newsletter is also exciting.

Startpage: Startpage is the world’s first data protection search engine! What do you think of private search engines? What are features you’d like private search engines to have?

Alan Dahi: I used Startpage before I started at noyb.

A feature I would like is really good personalized advertising. Joking aside, one feature I’d really like is to have measurement conversions, etc., shown right out of the box as an answer. In my opinion, many searches could be answered much better directly by the search engine instead of through a link.

Editor’s note: Startpage already offers a map view, an anonymous weather view, info panels, an anonymous currency converter, and an anonymous shopping function in the Instant Answers area. Further instant answers are in development.