Assessing formal independence of data protection authorities in a comparative perspective

Data protection authorities (DPAs) represent one of the key actors, not only when it comes to the execution of privacy and data protection policies, but also in terms of awareness raising, consultancy and networking. Since they comprise the spearhead of regulators in the field of privacy and data protection regulation, their independence from the private as well as political domain becomes of the utmost importance. However, independence turns out to be a multifaceted concept. That is why this contribution discusses ways of assessing DPAs' independence, drawing on research about independent regulatory agencies (IRAs). Three country case studies are finally presented.