Online social networking: open data sources or private personal data (Applying the Directives of data protection and privacy in electronic communications)

When one looks at the concept of using online social networking as a personal database from the perspective of data protection law issues, a number of problems arise, not least of which is identity theft. However, when one takes into account several rights, such as freedom of information and expresion or intellectual property, in addition to personal data protection, a new legal perspective seems to be required. By considering those social network services as public, open data sources, it is possible to harmonize all of these seemingly contradictory rights and laws. Furthermore, the processing of personal data from public souces has traditionally been privileged in data protection and privacy legislation.