The Rights of Data Subjects under the GDPR and Their Effectiveness In Protecting Consumer Rights to Privacy

Abstract

The EU has recently passed a new law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),[1] which is considered to strengthen existing data protection legislation in the European Union. The choice of Regulation itself as a legal instrument makes the GDPR stronger than Directive as it guarantees a uniform and consistent implementation of rules thereby, consolidating the EU digital single market. The GDPR has introduced several novel rights for data subjects, which are designed to increase consumers’ control over their personal data in the digital market: the right to data portability,[2] the right to withdraw consent[3] and the right to be forgotten.[4] This article thoroughly discusses each of these rights to evaluate their effectiveness in protecting consumer rights to privacy.