One of the primary aims of the GDPR is to increase the participation of data subjects and to
grant them more control over their data. Since Google and Facebook are global companies
collecting and processing vast amounts of personal data their compliance with the GDPR is
essential to ensure better protection of the data subjects. The key challenge now is whether
the GDPR impacts the business model of Facebook and Google since the scandal of Cambridge
Analytica revealed that transparency has no meaning in today's online market where
individuals' data is the currency. Even though GDPR provides some fundamental rights for the
data subjects it could be argued that the data subjects have no effective control over their
data in the online market in practice. Therefore it is necessary to analyse whether GDPR sets
adequate safeguards regarding the data subjects' rights regarding data owners' consent
purpose limitation principle and the right to be informed as well as whether these companies
meet the requirements of the GDPR in practice. Thus the aim of this book is to illuminate the
interaction of legislative decree and business practices of Facebook and Google.
