The Need of GDPR
The GDPR works around providing a regulatory infrastructure to prevent data theft and promote competition among businesses. Almost every year there are reports of data breaches, and with many of these companies holding a global position of influence, the theft of data can affect millions around the world. By having a regulatory system in place that gives people specific rights to their data, people may feel relieved that they have some control in how their data are used. The GDPR supports this and outlines for businesses exactly the implementation.
Data Protections and Rights
The GDPR maintains its priority around protecting personal data, especially personally identifiable information: IP addresses, GPS coordinates and locations, usernames, or cookies, among others. It also outlines specific rights that individuals enjoy regarding their data. Businesses must adhere to these protections and rights or possibly face fines.
Under the GDPR, data protection involves businesses providing privacy security procedures and technologies and reporting any data breaches to law enforcement. The GDPR encourages businesses to seek out technologies and practices which can secure the privacy of users, customers, and visitors. This can involve encrypting data, minimizing the data needed, or other properly vetted ideas that have followed through with mandated data protection impact assessments. However, no security is perfect, and it is possible for data to be stolen. In the cases of compromised data, businesses must alert the proper law enforcement agencies about the occurrence.
The GDPR grants individuals certain rights to give them control over their own information. These rights include the right to request data, the right to move data to a competitor, and the right to delete data. Businesses may find that meeting the requirements of the second right difficult since data files must be compatible and easy to move. Businesses will also need to adapt quickly to market influences in order to maintain preference over the competition.
Privacy Policy Notice
For businesses, the changes that GDPR introduces require the distinct and overt notice of data collection and, specifically, which data are collected and how they are used. This means that the business privacy policy must state to visitors that data collection is necessary to provide service. Furthermore, any sharing of data must only contain those data necessary to provide service to customers or visitors. These are extensions to the rights people have with regarding their data.
The GDPR further requires that businesses obtain consent from visitors before collecting or using any data. This is in part a way for visitors to be informed about their rights to privacy and protecting their information. If there are any changes with how data are collected or used, then businesses must obtain consent again. GDPR requires obtaining consent to be distinguished and noticeable.
The easiest way for businesses to comply with disclosure is to use their privacy policy effectively. They can list that they collect data from users, which data, and how they use those data within the policy. They can also inform the user whether consent has been provided or not and provide a single area to users for requesting their data, moving their data, and deleting their data.
The GDPR introduces new, strict regulations that businesses must comply with for operating within the EU. It works by requiring businesses to disclose all practices regarding data collection and use. It also requires businesses to obtain consent before any collection or use occurs. People now have the rights to request their data, move their data, and delete their data, all of which businesses must honor. Using the privacy policy is a simple way to provide for disclosure, obtain consent, and honor users’ rights without the risk of not being compliant with GDPR.
For help with complying to GDPR regulations, PointClick Technologies can help. Please contact us for more information.