Introduction
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on May 25, 2018, driving all tech companies, even the top data companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, to restructure their policies and procedures in order to become GDPR compliant. Setting some strict rules and regulations in everything from technology, entertainment, advertisement, banking, and medicine, GDPR compels businesses to meet extensive requirements designed to protect the citizen’s rights.
Will GDPR will affect your industry? With the continuing growth of ‘big data’, if your organization makes use of customer’s data, your business will likely be affected by this principles-based piece of legislation. Companies must be GDPR compliant or else risk substantial fines if any customer data is leaked.
The nuts and bolts about GDPR
GDPR aka General Data Protection Regulation is a European Union law that will have a great impact on enterprises that use customer data for their operational processes. Henceforth, it will be mandatory for organizations to update and reflect GDPR in their privacy policies and processes and redefine the ways they obtain, use and store information.
GDPR will strengthen a number of rights for the citizens empowering them to demand companies to reveal or delete their personal data. Any company that doesn’t readily comply with the law may be charged fines of up to 4% of the company’s global turnover.
Important Aspects of GDPR
- Larger Scope: GDPR has data controllers and processors in the EU and in organizations which target EU citizens.
- Security and Privacy: Early stages of development include data protection safeguards which must be built into products and services. Privacy must be set at a high level by default.
- Limited Data Storage: Companies have to make sure that they retain personal data only for as long as required to achieve the purpose for which that data was collected.
- Penalties: Breach of the GDPR will result in substantial fines of up to 20 million euros or 4 percent of annual worldwide turnover.
- Data Protection Officers (DPOs): It is mandatory for companies to appoint DPOs who will conduct large-scale systematic monitoring or processing of a large amount of sensitive personal data.
- Breach Notification: Notification must be sent to the supervisory authority of data breaches within 72 hours unless the breach is unlikely to be a risk to anyone. If there is a high risk to individuals then they must be informed.
Which industries could face a significant impact?
GDPR will have an impact on most industries, but there are some which will be affected more than others:
- Industries providing services to individual customers:
Industries like social media platforms or businesses where the core operation is based on processing the personal data of customers on a large scale are most likely to get impacted by GDPR. Online banking, financial services, insurance services, or e-commerce online retailers are included in this group, and these companies will need to quickly comply with these new laws. - Industries offering online marketing or system support services:
Businesses offering cloud computing services, remote services, platform-based services, process, and system management services, law services, marketing companies or event management require personal data on behalf of their controllers, therefore they also fall under the category of needing to be GDPR compliant. - Automobile, medical, healthcare, travel and hospitality industry
Industries like an automobile, entertainment, media, and communications, medical, healthcare, travel and hospitality love to collect personal data of customers who love their products. But now with GDPR, they will have to be more transparent with regards to the data they have, what they will do with it and why.
KEY BENEFITS OF GDPR
- Enhanced Cybersecurity
- Improved Data Management
- Increased Return On Investment (ROI)
- More Accurate Data
- Better consumer confidence
- Reduced Maintenance cost
GDPR is an official change regardless of whether you are located in the EU or not, hence organizations must adhere to the new laws making it a priority. GDPR makes everything official, so if you want to outperform your peers and avoid legal troubles, compliance is the only way to go ahead!
