The Processing of Personal Data in Contracts for the Supply of Digital Content and Services

This paper highlights the impact of personal data processing in contracts for the supply of digital content and services. The primary aim of this study is to clarify the role played by the consent given by the data subject to the processing of personal data within the framework of these new-wave digital contracts. In particular, our focus lies on discerning the consequences of the withdrawal of consent on the contract itself. This subject requires a multidisciplinary approach. By using the historical, theoretical and descriptive method of scientific inquiry, we hope to provide a more precise understanding of the complex regulatory framework governing electronic commerce. The paper commences by explaining the socio-economic and regulatory context in which the processing of personal data influences contract law. In the first section of the paper, we underline the distinction between two manifestations of will: the contractual consent, understood as a prerequisite for the validity of a contract, and the GDPR consent, representing an agreement to the processing of personal data. Subsequently, we emphasize the role of GDPR consent in synallagmatic contracts for the supply of digital content and services whereas the third section deals with the effects of GDPR consent withdrawal on the digital contract. Following our research, we concluded that there is a symbiotic relationship between the two legal forms of consent, despite their different nature. It is certain that the extensive processing of data, often referred to as ‘Big Data’, which has been prevalent for at least a decade, claims the need to protect the consumer of digital content and services beyond the non-patrimonial nature of the fundamental rights regulated by Regulation (EU) 2016/679.