GDPR in a Summary

The General Data Protection Regulations are regulations put in place by the European Union as a way of data protection and guarding of privacy, for all individuals within the EU. Primarily GDPR aims at giving back control of content to individuals which were previously held by a third party.

Moreover, the body aims at simplifying the regulation of data within EU, and also with foreign business processing data which belongs to members of the EU. Thus GDPR requires businesses to protect the privacy of personal data belonging to EU citizens. Failure to do so will cost the businesses dearly.

The regulations apply to controllers who collect data on EU citizens whether residing within the EU or in foreign nations. The regulations apply to processors who are usually organizations which handle and process data belonging to citizens within the EU.

According to the commission, any information which is classified as being personal belongs to an individual, and they should have absolute control over it. The power to control the information by the individual is a personal right unless the information is being used for national security or law enforcement.

The set of rules documented in the GDPR regulations are supposed to apply to all EU member states. However, since a country’s laws might be different from another, then each country will have an independent body to oversee that the regulations are adhered to all the time.

The function of the independent bodies will include hearing and investigating matters concerning the regulations. Moreover, these independent bodies in different nations are contemplated too coordinate with each other in order for GDPR to be successful.

The regulations are to take effect on May 25, 2018. Thus companies are required to put their houses in order so that they do not fail to comply with the regulations. The companies are advised to organize their data as well as to review their privacy policies. Of great importance is creating a flexible environment that allows one to merge with the new regulations. However, the European Commission has stated that the regulations work with the current data protection act thus companies which already were compliant will have no problem adopting them.

Importance of GDPR for Users and Business.

Power for Control•

The main purpose of GDPR is to give individuals more control over their personal data, which means that personal information becomes safer than before. The strict laws imposed on companies ensure that businesses cease misusing employee’s data. Cases of cyber deviance will be a thing of the past since corporations will be responsible if employees’ data is breached. Evidently, the regulations will have a positive effect on personal data on the whole.

Strict Regulations•

Moreover, the new regulations will have an extended reach, unlike the previous data protection. Companies which are based out of EU which handle data belonging to EU citizens will have to follow the regulations as well. The regulations provide a sense of safety for personal information belonging to people living outside the EU which is not the case right now.

Data Controllers•

The regulations come with accountability and privacy for private information automatically. Employees no longer fear for cyber deviance at work which normally leads to abuse of data. Data controllers are required by law to show compliance with the law by documentation of data, conducting impact assessments on data which is liable to risk. Moreover, they should employ protection strategies to data which is vulnerable and report any cases of data misuse to the relevant.

Strict Fines•

Furthermore, any breach of personal information with the new set of regulations comes with sanctions. The law states that a company can be fined up to 4% of the world’s annual turnover. This heavy fine is applicable in the case that international data transfer and breaches occur. However, other violations will attract a fine of up to 2% of the total annual world turnover.

Save Time & Money•

Getting a notification from a data protection authority will be a thing of the past. This will save on funds and time. New technology will be used to process data and document the new information. However before any personal data is used by a company, they need to contact the user first so that they utilize the data with the consent of the owner.

One Stop Shop•

GDPR acts as a one-stop shop, for all over the EU, thus one set of rules will apply all over the nations without the need of implementing national legislation. The new set of rules will help promote businesses within the EU as they will be operating with the same policies. Moreover, this is a benefit to the business in that they will be saving time thus making more money. Additionally, most business will be on the same page to the fact that they are operating within the same law.

Personal Privacy•

The new law provides users with the choice of being forgotten. The new change is useful for people who are managing their information risks. A person will be allowed to delete data from an organization unless there is a reason for an organization to hold the information. The information also is required to delete links of personal information which might be in the hands of a third party when a person requests so.

What Is GDPR In Business?

GDPR comes with a lot of changes regarding how businesses conduct their day to day activities such as business processes. Communication within the organization should meet the set regulations. Change of policies will necessitate a change on the on how the corporation conduct their cyber activities. If success is to be achieved then companies need to have a plan on how they will handle their data in the future.

Preparations a company needs to go through involves mapping the company’s data. This involves information such as the source of the data used in the organization. How the company stores these data is critical in determining the likelihood of it being misused. Moreover, the company might need to cut links with third parties that may contact sensitive employees’ information. Moreover, the company should look at the possibility of the data being at risk at the point in the cyberspace.

Being organized with data is an asset for any company, for instance, it is prudent to avoid too much useless data. Businesses should not keep more information than necessary; GDPR encourages the use of data which is only beneficial to the organization. Thus organizing data according to different categories based on relevance makes a company avoid redundancy.

Companies should review security measures put in place in order to develop safeguards against any data breaches within an organization. The data security should be swift in informing the authorities about any data breaches in order for data to be retrieved quickly. Moreover, suppliers should meet the new security measures since outsourcing comes with a price at times.

Finally, a company needs to establish procedures for handling personal data. This includes processes to handle any situation presented. For instance, a case on how to handle an issue where an individual would like to delete their personal data. All processes should be captured in order for companies to function effectively.

Although GDPR comes with strict regulations on business, this should be taken positively since every company should aim at protecting customer information. Moreover, if a company follows the set rules, it will attract more customers thus creating brand loyalty which is good at creating a brand name.

GDPR Checklist for Businesses

Before the regulations come into action, companies should ensure that they have a checklist. This checklist will assist them to meet the required standard set by the regulators. The checklist should include the current and past employees as well as the customers and suppliers.

1. Knowledge

First, a company should have adequate knowledge of the data they are dealing with. How sensitive the data is, with a demonstration of understanding the kind of data one is dealing with generally. Moreover one should understand the source of the information as well as any third party who would access the data.

2. Full Rights

Identify whether an organization relies on consent since with the new regulations performing operations on consent with GDPR will be hard. The right of an employee comes before the needs of the company. Consequently when the new rules take effect, relying on consent will be discouraged at all costs as the new law discourages such acts.

3. Right to Access Data

Prepare to meet access requests within one month since employees will require the right to access data within a period of one month. Moreover, this is the time for the organization to shift to the free access platform for its employees. Requesting access for one month means that employees have only a month to access their information before a specific request expires.

4. Train Employees

Train employees on various aspects of data handling, for instance, they should be able to report a breech within 72 hours for convenience and swift actions. Everyone who is associated with the business should take the responsibility of answering to cases of breaching.

5. Data Sensitivity

Decide on whether to employ a data protection officer based on the sensitivity of the data being handled by an organization. Very sensitive data would require that a data protection officer is hired so as to evade any chance of mishandling of data. In case the organization does not handle vulnerable data then there is no need to hire a data specialist.

GDPR Compliance

GDPR regulations apply to all businesses that handle data for all the European citizens whether within EU or outside EU. The regulations apply to all kind of business whether large or small as long as they are handling information related to EU citizens. The kind of data which are protected by GDPR falls under private data which are collected while running the daily activities of the business.

The new regulations will apply to data collectors and processors, the safety of any kind of information rely on both of them. If a breach happens, a person has the right to sue the business for mishandling of information. Moreover, failure to comply with the set regulations leads to heavy fines for up to 4% of annual turnover for breach of sensitive international data and a charge of 2% total world financial turnover for data which is not very sensitive. The severity of the punishment is directly proportional to the potential damage likely to be caused by misuse of data.

If one is responsible for a breach, they will be held responsible for the damage caused by severe fines unlike in the former data protection regulations. Individuals whose data has been compromised by an organization can seek compensation too when they file a case against non-compliant parties.

Conclusion

On the whole, the new set of regulations presented by GDPR concerning the change of policies on how companies handle private data come with a set of its own limitations and advantages. The regulations give back the power to individuals within an organization.

This is good for people who are working hard to protect their data from being misused. The efforts by the organizations seem fruitful in preventing misuse of data. Individuals will now feel safe giving out their data to potential employees with little fear of data breach unlike in the past.

For the organization, the set of rules seems strict as they take the blame for all kind of data breaches. However, this should be taken positively since the organizational data will likely to be organized in an effort to avoid having too much data which could be needed by the organization anyway. Moreover, there will be easy of accessing data once it is organized thus saving and organization time thus more productivity.

After the new regulations take effect on May 25, 2018, there will be the likelihood of non-compliance which may affect businesses tremendously as most of them are still not aware of the regulations in details. However, for those companies which will have kept their houses in order. This might be a chance to build on brand quality through customer loyalty as a result of GDPR compliance.