Anthropology and GDPR: old dilemmas and new challenges for ethnographic research

With the entry into force of the current European data protection regulation (GDPR), ethnographic research deals with new challenges. This new regulatory framework has imposed a discussion on the ethical and methodological perspectives concerned with data collection, storage and dissemination of research participant's information. This article analyzes the reasons that led to the current scenario by putting the perspective of the European institutions in dialogue with the requests of the anthropological community. Looking at the political, social and economic role played by data, the text offers some reflections on the current process of digitization and the future of data collection practices in ethnographic research.