EUROPEAN UNION CONSUMERS’ VIEWS ON THE PROTECTION OF THEIR PERSONAL DATA: AN EXPLORATORY ASSESSMENT

The increasing marketing efforts of the organizations based on the acquiring,processing, storage and employment of the consumers’ personal data have imposed thereconsideration, both from the theoretical and practical perspectives, of the concepts describing theprivacy, consumer’s private space and personalization. Paper intends to assess, based on secondary data and in an exploratory manner, the viewsof the consumers from the European Union countries regarding the ways the different organizationspresent in the market handle their personal data, the degree of awareness associated with theexistence and functioning of the personal data protection in their home countries and theirperception related to the effectiveness of the personal data protection.