EU move to strengthen online privacy protection draws criticism from marketing companies who bemoan loss of lucrative data

Europe has strict rules for protecting personal data, often going further than the US to make sure private consumers aren’t taken advantage of. Now, as companies are increasing their use of data-mining and social networks are becoming troves of personal information, the European Commission is proposing to overhaul its landmark data protection law. Privacy advocates applaud the move while businesses say the new rules could affect their bottom line. From France, FSRN’s Liam Moriarty reports.