Personal data protection has become one of the central issues in any understanding of the current world system. In this connection, the European Union (EU) has created the most sophisticated regime currently in force with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of 2016. This book on this major data protection reform offers a comprehensive discussion of all principles of personal data processing, obligations of data controllers and rights of data subjects. This is the core of the personal data protection regime. GDPR is applicable directly in all Member States, providing for a unification of data protection rules within the EU. However, it poses a problem in enabling international trade and data transfers outside the EU between economies which have different data protection models in place. Among the broad spectrum of aspects of the subject covered are the following: – summary of the changes introduced by the GDPR; – new territorial scope; – key principles of personal data processing; – legal bases for the processing of personal data; – marketing, cookies and profiling; – new information clauses; – new Subject Access Requests (SARs), including the ‘right to be forgotten’ on the Internet, the right to data portability and the right to object to profiling; – new data protection by design and by default; – benefits from implementing a data protection certificate; and – data transfers outside the EU, including BCRs, SCCs and special features of EU–US arrangements. This book references many rulings of European courts, as well as interpretations and guidelines formulated by European data protection authorities, examples and best practices, making it of great practical value to lawyers and business leaders. Because of the increase in legal certainty in this area guaranteed by the GDPR, multinational corporations and their customers and contractors will benefit enormously from consulting and using this book. For practitioners and academics, researching or advising clients on this area, and government policy advisors, this book provides an indispensable source of guidance and information for many years to come.