According to the Working Party 29 (WP29), i.e. the group uniting the European data protection authorities, the practice of harvesting personal data from social media for economic or political reasons has become much wider spread recently. Therefore, the working party announced its full support in April 2018 for the ongoing investigations by national privacy authorities into the collection and use of personal data by and through social media.
To ensure this goal, the WP 29 has created a Social Media Working Group to develop a long-term strategy on the issue and to protect individuals against unlawful use of their personal data on social media platforms. As a first step, the WP29 has issued guidance on how individuals may exercise their rights as data subjects and make use of the controls currently provided by social media platforms.
On 25 May 2018, with the entry of the General Data Protection Regulation into force, WP 29 is replaced by the European Data Protection Board. However, the work of the Social Media Working Group will continue after the establishment of the European Data Protection Board.
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