Making Web Applications GDPR Compliant: A Comparative Evaluation of GDPR-Enforcement Frameworks
Authors: Felix Kalinowski (Ruhr University Bochum), David Klein (Technische Universität Braunschweig), Martin Johns (Technische Universität Braunschweig), Veelasha Moonsamy (Ruhr University Bochum)
Volume: 2025
Issue: 4
Pages: 777–794
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56553/popets-2025-0157
Abstract: The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of data protection within the European Union (EU). Consequently, companies have since been legally obliged to respect users' privacy, and, if found to be in violation, risk incurring fines. While this regulatory change greatly benefits users, software developers, on the other hand, face a tremendous challenge to make their applications compliant, creating a gap between legal requirements and effective software development. Several solutions have been proposed to bridge the gap for web application developers. However, it is unclear to what extent they fulfill the requirements laid out by the GDPR. In this work, we look at three frameworks that aim to aid compliance for web applications. To efficiently assess them, we propose a methodology and several benchmarks to evaluate and compare the frameworks. From the GDPR, we have derived a set of requirements that do not entail institutional changes but have technical implications for software. Leveraging these requirements, we evaluate both the proposed solutions' enforcement capabilities and computational overhead. Our comparison shows that each framework can, if configured correctly, enforce a different subset of GDPR requirements. Finally, based on the insights gained, we provide recommendations for the community on how to make further progress on operationalizing the GDPR.
Keywords: GDPR enforcement, privacy, web applications
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