Data Protection or Data Frustration? Individual Perceptions and Attitudes Towards the GDPR
Open accessAbstract
Strengthening individual rights, enhancing control over one’s data and raising awareness were among the main aims the European Commission set for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In order to assess whether these aims have been met, research into in- dividual perceptions, awareness, and understanding of the Regulation is necessary. This study thus examines individual reactions to the GDPR in order to provide insights into user agency in relation to the Regulation. More specifically, it discusses empirical data (survey with N = 1288) on individual knowledge of, reactions to, and rights exercised under the GDPR in the Netherlands. The results show high awareness of the GDPR and knowledge of individ- ual rights. At the same time, the Dutch show substantial reactance to the Regulation and doubt the effectiveness of their individual rights. These findings point to several issues ob- structing the GDPR’s effectiveness, and constitute useful signposts for policy-makers and en- forcement agencies to prioritise their strategies in achieving the original aims of the Regu- lation.
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A key goal of the European General Data Protection Regulation is to strengthen individuals' control over their personal data, which stands in contrast to privacy regulations in the United States.
“a key goal of the European General Data Protection Regulation is to strengthen individuals' control over their personal data (Strycharz et al., 2020;van Ooijen & Vrabec, 2019), which stands in contrast to the privacy regulations in the United States”
From The validation of the Perceived Surveillance Scale (2022) · cites this paper as Strycharz et al., 2020
Privacy regulations differ between countries, which impacts how personal data are collected and treated.
“privacy regulations differ between countries, which impacts how personal data are collected and treated (Strycharz et al., 2020)”
From The validation of the Perceived Surveillance Scale (2022) · cites this paper as Strycharz et al., 2020
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The validation of the Perceived Surveillance Scale
Segijn, C. M., Opree, S. J., & Van Ooijen, I. (2022) · Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2022-3-9 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Strycharz, J., & Segijn, C. M. (2024) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114490 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Strycharz, J., Ausloos, J., & Helberger, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Venue
- European Data Protection Law Review
- Publisher
- Lexxion Verlag
- Published
- 2020
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 407-421
- ISSN
- 2364-2831 (ISSN-L)
- 2364-284X
- OpenAlex
- W3091822329
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 17.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- European Data Protection Law Review (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Law › Digitalization, Law, and Regulation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
- Social Sciences › Law › Government, Law, and Information Management
- Keywords
- General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, data protection, individual rights, reactance, consumer awareness, data subject rights, user agency, data control, Netherlands
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