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

                      Călin Veghes, Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest
                     Carmen Pantea, Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest
                      Diana Balan, Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest
                        Bogdan Lalu, The Gallup Organization Romania


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

Keywords: privacy, personal data protection, personalization, European Union

JEL codes: M31