What is data protection GDPR? And why is this important to follow for any company and organization today? Find out about that below.
Data Protection GDPR
Data protection GDPR refers to General Data Protection Regulation. It is a new regulation that is being implemented to protect the personal data of individuals. The purpose of this regulation is to ensure that there is better privacy for individuals. And also to ensure that organizations are more transparent about how they use personal data about individuals.
Further, this is a new regulation and it will be coming into play soon in the EU region only. It is not mandatory for businesses and organizations in other parts of the world. However, there are some parts of the world where you can consider implementing this regulation. That is if you are looking to expand your business and reach out to more customers in different regions.
The UK, for example, has been a pioneer in coming up with comprehensive data protection laws effective from 2018 and onwards. This one was adopted by the European Union (EU) on 14 April 2016. This legislation became effective on 25 May 2018. The main objectives for this legislation are as follows:
- To protect the natural persons (citizens) of the EU from potential misuse of their data
- To ensure that the processing of personal data is fair, transparent, and lawful
- Also, to regulate how businesses and organizations need to handle personal data
- Then, to ensure that businesses adhere to their customers’ wishes regarding their data
Then, this new regulation aims at improving transparency around how businesses collect, store, handle and process personal data. This will help citizens easily understand which parties have access to their private information, and what exactly they do with that information. And also how long they plan to keep it.
Data Protection GDPR: What does this mean for companies?
Companies need to start taking steps now to be compliant with this new regulation on May 25th, 2018. For a company or organization to be legally compliant with this regulation, they need to take certain steps. To ensure that any processing or storing of personal information complies with these rules:
- Organizations need to collect data only when authorized by law
- Organize how personal data is accessed
- Then, organize how personal information is kept Organize how personal information is deleted or destroyed
- Also, organize what happens if there’s any unauthorized access Organize who in the organization has access to personal information
- Moreover, organize what happens if an employee leaves the organization
So, companies need to have a Data Protection Officer who oversees all these processes. This is because this person needs to help with ensuring that the company complies with the GDPR. Also, he needs to help the company with responding to privacy queries from customers or employees.
Conclusion
As you can see, if your company is in the UK, then you have a head start. However, if you are in another region, then it is time to start planning and getting your company ready for this new regulation. This will ensure that you are in good standing with the EU, and also with other countries who will adopt this regulation soon as well.