March 2025

Event: Virtual communities in the era of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) | March 2025

“The impact of automated content moderation on personal data protection and GDPR compliance” was the topic addressed by Adela Nuță at the National Conference “Virtual Communities in the Era of the General Data Protection Regulation” organized by JURIDICE.ro together with The Center for European Law Studies (CSDE) of the Institute of Legal Research within the Romanian Academy, the Danubius International University of Galati and the Department of Political Science of the “Luigi Vanvitelli” University of Campania.

The main ideas circling Adela’s presentation are:

• In the current digital world governed by algorithms and artificial intelligence, automated content moderation on social platforms raises essential questions about the legality of data processing and the respect of users’ rights. The GDPR sets clear obligations for any processing of personal data, whether it is done manually or through AI systems, imposing transparency in decision-making and protecting users from possible abuse or algorithmic errors. However, the application of these principles in a complex technological context generates major challenges, in particular with regard to the surveillance of online content, limitations related to the purpose of processing and the risks associated with automatic user profiling.
• A central aspect of the debate was how automated content moderation influences the right of users of social platforms not to be subjected to exclusively algorithmic decisions, such as deleting posts or suspending accounts. Although the GDPR imposes guarantees for transparency and the possibility of challenging these decisions, in practice, the application of these rules remains difficult, especially in the context of the new European AI regulations, which impose additional requirements on the safety and fairness of algorithms.
• The rapid development of artificial intelligence and its integration into content moderation processes highlights the need for harmonization between existing regulations, such as GDPR, and the new requirements of the AI Act, so that users benefit from a safe online environment, without losing control over their own data and without the risk of disproportionate censorship.

The video recording of the conference is available, in Romanian, on the Juridice.ro platform (Section: Video). For details, please contact evenimente@juridice.ro

Details about our Data Privacy and Personal Data Processing Practice are available HERE.