The Status of Privacy Enhancing Technologies

This paper explains Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs), their anchoring in the EU Data Protection Directives and other data-protection systems, and how they might contribute to the lawful processing of personal data. We look back since the Dutch and Ontario Privacy Commissioners defined PET in 1995 to see what has changed and what has been achieved. The EU project PISA (privacy incorporated software agent) will be used as an example of future PET.