In recent years, data have become part and parcel of contemporary capitalism. This has created tensions between the growing demand for personal data and the fundamental right to data protection. Against this background, the EU's adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016 is puzzling. Why did the EU adopt a regulation that strengthens data protection despite intensive lobbying by powerful business groups and the EU's supposed neoliberal bias? We make two arguments to explain this outcome. First, we use process tracing to show how issue-specific institutions played a crucial role during the agenda-setting stage (1990s–2009) and policy formulation stage (2009–2012). They triggered and structured the drafting process by strengthening the position of data protection advocates within the European Commission. Second, we use discourse network analysis to show that the Snowden revelations of 2013 fundamentally changed the discursive and coalitional dynamics during the decision-making stage (2012–2016). The salience shock it produced “saved” the GDPR from being watered down, by incentivizing policymakers to distance themselves from business interests and by exposing the geo-economic dimension of data protection. This article thus offers a comprehensive explanation of the GDPR, while contributing to the literature on the political economy of data protection.

中文翻译：

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监管欧洲数据驱动型经济：关于通用数据保护法规的案例研究

近年来，数据已成为当代资本主义的重要组成部分。这造成了对个人数据日益增长的需求与数据保护的基本权利之间的紧张关系。在此背景下，欧盟在2016年通过的《通用数据保护条例》（GDPR）令人费解。尽管强大的商业团体和欧盟所谓的新自由主义偏见进行了密集的游说，但为什么欧盟仍采用了一项加强数据保护的法规？我们提出两个论据来解释这个结果。首先，我们使用过程追踪来展示特定问题的机构如何在议程设定阶段（1990 年代至 2009 年）和政策制定阶段（2009 年至 2012 年）发挥关键作用。他们通过加强欧盟委员会内数据保护倡导者的地位来触发和构建起草过程。第二，我们使用话语网络分析表明，2013 年的斯诺登启示从根本上改变了决策阶段（2012-2016 年）的话语和联盟动态。它产生的显着冲击“挽救”了 GDPR 免于被淡化，激励政策制定者与商业利益保持距离，并暴露数据保护的地缘经济维度。因此，本文对 GDPR 进行了全面的解释，同时为数据保护的政治经济学文献做出了贡献。通过激励政策制定者远离商业利益并暴露数据保护的地缘经济维度。因此，本文对 GDPR 进行了全面的解释，同时为数据保护的政治经济学文献做出了贡献。通过激励政策制定者远离商业利益并暴露数据保护的地缘经济维度。因此，本文对 GDPR 进行了全面的解释，同时为数据保护的政治经济学文献做出了贡献。