Easy Actions to GDPR Compliance668024
With the new General Information Protection Regulation (GDPR) looming, you may well be one of the many now frantically assessing business processes and systems to ensure you don't fall foul of the new Regulation come implementation in May 2018. Even if you've been spared working on a direct compliance project, any new initiative inside your company is most likely to consist of an element of GDPR conformity. And as the deadline moves ever closer, companies will be looking for to train their employees on the basics of the new regulation, particularly these that have access to individual data.
The basics of GDPR
So what is all the fuss about and how is the new law so different to the data protection directive that it replaces?
The first important distinction is 1 of scope. GDPR goes beyond safeguarding against the misuse of individual information such as email addresses and telephone numbers. The Regulation applies to any type of individual information that could identify an EU citizen, such as user names and IP addresses. Moreover, there is no distinction between info held on an individual in a business or individual capacity - it is all classified as personal data identifying an person and is consequently covered by the new Regulation.
Secondly, GDPR does away with the comfort of the "opt-out" currently enjoyed by numerous businesses. Instead, applying the strictest of interpretations, using individual information of an EU citizen, requires that such consent be freely given, particular, informed and unambiguous. It requires a good indication of agreement - it cannot be inferred from silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity.
It's this scope, coupled with the strict interpretation that has had advertising and company leaders alike in such a fluster. And rightly so. Not only will the business need to be compliant with the new law, it might, if challenged, be needed to demonstrate this compliance. To make issues even much more difficult, the law will apply not just to newly acquired information post May 2018, but also to that already held. So if you have a database of contacts, to whom you have freely marketed in the past, without their express consent, even giving the person an option to opt-out, whether now or previously, won't cover it.
Consent needs to be gathered for the actions you intend to take. Obtaining consent just to USE the data, in any type will not be sufficient. Any list of contacts you have or intend to buy from a third celebration vendor could consequently turn out to be obsolete. With out the consent from the people listed for your company to use their data for the action you had intended, you will not be able to make use of the data.
But it's not all as poor as it appears. At initial glance, GDPR looks like it could choke business, especially on-line media. But that is truly not the intention. From a B2C viewpoint, there could be quite a mountain to climb, as in most cases, businesses will be reliant on gathering consent. Nevertheless, there are two other mechanisms by which use of the information can be legal, which in some instances will support B2C actions, and will almost certainly cover most locations of B2B activity.
"Contractual necessity" will remain a lawful basis for processing individual information below GDPR. This indicates that if it is required that the individual's information is utilized to fulfil a contractual obligation with them or take steps at their request to enter into a contractual agreement, no further consent will be required. In layman's terms then, utilizing a person's get in touch with particulars to generate a contract and fulfil it is permissible.
There is also the route of the "legitimate interests" mechanism, which remains a lawful basis for processing individual data. The exception is exactly where the interests of those utilizing the data are overridden by the interests of the affected data topic. It is reasonable to assume, that cold calling and emailing reputable business prospects, identified via their job title and employer, will nonetheless be feasible below GDPR.
