Alva Review-Courier -

Europe's new data and privacy rules take effect Friday, clarifying individual rights to the personal data collected by companies around the world for targeted advertising and other purposes.

Years in the making, the rules are prompting companies to rewrite their privacy policies and in some cases, apply the European Union's tougher standards even in the U.S. and other regions where privacy laws are weak. Although they take effect as Facebook faces an enormous privacy crisis , that timing is largely coincidental.

Not much will change for you, at least right away; companies will keep on collecti...