With the development of modern data processing, mining and collection technologies, various companies and institutions will have more opportunities to make these data operations faster and more efficiently. From the economic perspective, processing personal data is evidently lucrative and companies would therefore like to obtain as much data as possible. This paper analyses and summarizes existing and emerging social and economic trends, implications and issues caused by clashes between European legislation on personal data protection (the GDPR) and current data processing practices. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data, the article attempts to scrutinize the implications of the conflict between the rising demand for privacy and personal data protection on the one hand and the ever-growing need to process and store personal data, especially by commercial organizations, on the other. Analysing databases, legislation, reports, statistical data and surveys, the paper attempts to provide an estimate of the value of personal data and the consequences of poor handling of personal data.