Consumer Personal Data as a Payment – Implementation of Digital Content Directive in Poland and Latvia

Abstract

The new Digital Content Directive is seen as an important step in adapting European private law to the requirements of the digital economy. However, the Directive gives the Member States a wide margin of discretion in determining many important legal aspects, for example, the Directive leaves contract typology to the competence of Member States. This has led to considerably varied legislative choices of Member States. Business models where consumers' data are used as payment are available in different forms in a considerable part of the market, but to this moment it does not have a specific regulatory framework. Consumer data as remuneration is a challenge to many national legal systems because it establishes a new legal phenomenon in those countries, Latvia and Poland among them. Therefore, this article deals with the implementation of the Digital Content Directive into the national law of Latvia and Poland limiting it to cases where the consumers do not pay the price but provide personal data to the trader. The paper aims to evaluate the implementation provisions and to identify potential gaps in the regulation of the analysed area, and finally, assess whether the goals of the Digital Content Directive are achievable. The research results of the paper reflect the current legal situation in Latvia and Poland, compare the planned strategies for the implementation of the Directive in both countries, and finally, provide some concluding remarks.