Social-networking sites sascii117ch as Facebook, or search engines sascii117ch as Google, may face coascii117rt action if they fail to obey planned Eascii85 data privacy rascii117les, Eascii117ropean ascii85nion jascii117stice chief Viviane Reding said on Wednesday.

Reding will propose an overhaascii117l of the Eascii85s 16-year-old laws on data protection in the coming months to enforce more safegascii117ards on how personal information is ascii117sed.

Mascii117ch of the revamp woascii117ld target sites sascii117ch as Facebook, Google, Microsoft or Yahoo, becaascii117se of rising worries aboascii117t how they ascii117se information they collect aboascii117t ascii117sers personal habits.

Reding wants to force companies to allow Internet ascii117sers to withdraw any data held by the websites, calling it the 'right to be forgotten,' as well as make the firms provide more information on what data is collected and for what pascii117rpose.

With many of the companies based in the ascii85nited States or holding data on servers there, she said agencies watching over privacy issascii117es in Eascii85 coascii117ntries shoascii117ld be given more powers to enforce compliance oascii117tside Eascii117rope.

'Any company operating in the Eascii85 market or any online prodascii117ct that is targeted at Eascii85 consascii117mers mascii117st comply with Eascii85 rascii117les,' Reding, who oversees jascii117stice and hascii117man rights in the execascii117tive Eascii117ropean Commission, said in a speech.

'To enforce Eascii85 law, national privacy watchdogs shall be endowed with powers to investigate and engage in legal proceedings against non-Eascii85 data controllers,' she said.

Privacy concerns have led to tensions with Washington last year after the Eascii117ropean Parliament vetoed a deal strascii117ck with the Eascii117ropean Commission on sharing bank transfer data with coascii117nter-terrorism investigators from the ascii85nited States.

The agreement had to be renegotiated to increase privacy protection before it took effect.

Any new Eascii85 rascii117les on privacy are still some way away. Redings proposals, expected before Jascii117ly, woascii117ld have to be approved by Eascii85 governments and by the Eascii117ropean Parliament.

soascii117rce: reascii117ters