Social networks in light of the General Data Protection Regulation proposal. Part 1

This paper examines how personal data is processed by companies offering social network services in the context of the new legal framework entailed in the EU’s proposal for the General Data Protection Regulation presented by the European Commission in January 2012. The paper examines who is responsible for data processing and applying the exclusion of personal or domestic activities. An attempt is made to dissect the difficulties in applying Directive 95/46/CE to International Corporations based outside of the EU and how the proposal for the General Data Protection Regulation aims to regulate this matter. The data, the consent of interested parties for data processing and transfers, the principle of quality in social network services, data storage, security measures and the rights of individuals, in particular, the right to be forgotten on the Internet, are analysed in the context of the proposal for the General Data Protection Regulation.