The way we do business has changed.
Emails, dashboards, social media, text messages, and many other actions fill our day-to-day lives. This is a result of the digital world we live in.
Not to mention our digital world removes physical borders. We can easily reach a consumer, customer, or vendor online.
Ease of connection and increased accessibility results in more data transferred through email subscriptions, apps, and SaaS platforms.
With more data comes more responsibility. In addition to more responsibility, we now have increased accountability to secure our personal data and the data of those who we do business with.
Generally speaking that’s what GDPR is about.
What is GDPR?
The European Union created a new data privacy law. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect on May 25, 2018. This policy takes into consideration the way in which we operate our businesses and how we connect with consumers has changed.
In short this policy change is about:
1. Providing consent
2. Informing consumers and customers
3. Data protection
How will this help consumers?
Policymakers protect individuals’ data privacy. This includes data management and collection.
This law requires companies to notify consumers about data collection and misusage.
Ultimately, these changes increase consumer confidence in online services.
How does this affect companies?
Companies must obtain explicit consent to collect consumer data.
Just telling your customers, “Hey, we occasionally gather and use your data to improve our products and provide you with a better experience” unfortunately isn’t enough.
Customers must provide their consent.
Not only must customers provide consent, but you must also notify customers in the event of data misuse. And that includes a hack or data breach.
The legal ramifications for misusage are high.
If your company has 250 employees or more, then you must appoint a dedicated Data Protection Officer (DPO), and much more.
To support you with this change we’ve linked additional resources below.
So, you might be wondering, if this is a policy change in the EU, then what does it have to do with you?
Does GDPR affect you?
Well, that depends…
It applies not only to EU-based organizations. If you have customers or contacts in the EU, then it applies to you!
Additional support to help you navigate this change:
EU Commission: About the Regulation and Protection
