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E.U.: Transference of personal data online may be newest issue to face the European Commission

By  |  November 28, 2012

Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Competition Policy Joaquin Almunia has suggested that a new antitrust issue may arise concerning the use of personal data by online companies. Almunia said in a speech Monday that while the issue has never been brought to the European Commission before, companies may find themselves in violation of antitrust law if they prevent customers from moving their personal data to rival companies and websites online. Almunia said that the right to transport personal data online “goes to the heart of competition policy,” and while he did not name any specific companies in his speech, experts suspect that Google, Facebook and other social networking sites – where the uploading of personal information is key in participation of the site – may be most likely to face the predicament in the future.

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