Authorities all over the globe are slowly giving in to the public’s clamor for greater data protection as news of security breaches of company customer databases have become commonplace – with hackers taking advantage of precious customer data such as credit card numbers and social security information. In Europe, governments have taken concrete steps in ensuring the proper handling of personal data and it impacts not just Europe, but almost everyone who is on the internet.
GDPR, short for General Data Protection Regulation, was enacted in April 2016 and covers personal data such as medical records, financial history to internet browsing history.
As mentioned, GDPR covers the European Union and directly affects businesses that offer products and services in the region. Which means that wherever a business might be based, if it interacts with customers or clients in the European Union, it is still subject to the terms of GDPR.
While the new regulation distinguishes between smaller businesses from larger organizations with certain record-keeping requirements that are applicable only to companies with more than 250 employees, there is much in GDPR that covers all organizations no matter what their size is.
Customer Consent
The entire GDPR text is 88 pages long, but one thing is clear: users have the right and should be in control how their personal data is used. This prohibits organizations to assume what their actions would be.
An example of this would be a form that captures a user’s information, with tick boxes for opting-in to newsletters. The norm with organizations would be having those boxes pre-ticked – which is exactly prohibited with GDPR in full effect.
While this seems minimal for most small businesses, it would be a ton of work for businesses requiring information in order to proceed with their usual business processes – think about financial companies, job sites, etc.
Another guideline for businesses with the incoming GDPR compliance deadline is for organizations to only use personal data that is necessary. If there is no value for a business to know for example a user’s age, gender, company, then one doesn’t need to ask for it.
GDPR encourages transparency – and placing links to terms and conditions, privacy policy, unsubscribe links would serve as a hedge against non-compliance issues in the future. Also placing badges proclaiming compliance to best practices regarding data protection will not hurt.
GDPR Is Worth All The Work
While GDPR may seem too strict with all its stipulations, it is not working to impede the growth of eCommerce in Europe and indirectly in the world. It instead encourages users and shoppers to feel more comfortable availing products and services through the internet.
With this, GDPR compliance is worth all the work as it may be the only thing differentiating a company from its competition, to add it versions of it might be or have been implemented in certain US states and other parts of the world.
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