The GDPR is in Effect: How’s Your Business Looking?

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the news or your inbox, you’ll have seen the world’s attention shift to online privacy. This is because GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) went into effect this week. Hopefully, you’ve known about the European regulation since its inception in 2016. But if you’re still trying to catch up, here’s what you need to know.

What is the GDPR?

The GDPR is a set of European regulations meant to protect internet users’ private information. It was officially adopted in 2016 and gave companies two years to become compliant before May 25th, 2018. Most importantly, it only affects businesses that work with EU citizens whether or not they’re based in Europe. If this is you, take a look at those emails flooding your inbox. If you’re storing any kind of user data, whether it be for a company newsletter or account information on your e-commerce site, you should be paying close attention to all things GDPR. 

Generally speaking, Europe has stricter regulations on how companies use people’s personal data. In 1995, the EU established the Data Protection Directive in order to fight the misuse of this data. However, the internet’s changed a lot since then. Now, that directive is out of date. It doesn’t address the myriad of ways in which data is stored, collected and transferred today.

What Changes?

This new regulation brings about the biggest change to European data security in 20 years. Here some of the big rules:

• Being transparent with your data policies (and not hiding it behind jargon)
• The Right to be Forgotten, or, allowing customers to review and delete data associated with their name
• Giving notice of data breaches within 72 hours
• In some cases, hiring a Chief Data Officer

The detailed regulations are ambitious, to say the least. So, if your business falls under the GDPR, you might still have some leeway. However, keep in mind the consequences. For the most serious of breaches, fines reach as high as 4% of annual global turnover or $20 million, whichever is higher. When regulations cover issues as small as font choice, becoming compliant should be at the top of your priority list if you aren’t already.

How to Become Compliant

So, you might be stressed and scrambling to meet the requirements. Here’s your next step: talk to a professional that can get you compliant. The Romega Digital team can audit your communications and make sure they’re GDPR compliant before any regulators come knocking on your door.