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Technology & Innovation

E.U. Considers Big Penalties for Privacy Breaches

Mishandling personal data could cost multinationals billions of euros in fines and social media users would have a ‘right to be forgotten’ under proposed new E.U. data protection laws.
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What’s the Latest Development?

In a revamp of its data protection laws, the E.U. is reported to be considering imposing fines of up to 5 per cent of their global turnover on companies that breach its privacy rules. Those found to have mishandled personal data will face the highest fines, which could reach billions of euros for large multinationals.

What’s the Big Idea?

According to the F.T., among measures particularly relevant to social media is a “right to be forgotten” which would force the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn to allow users to delete information they have posted online, even if they had earlier given their consent to it being public.

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