The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced in 2016, is one of the most significant reforms of privacy regulations in Europe in the last 20 years. The ultimate goal of the GDPR is to unify data privacy laws across Europe, protect the private information of European citizens, and give them more rights and control over their own data.
Online businesses need a constant flow of data to improve the user experience on the website, retarget website visitors and customers, or generate personalized ads. However, under the new GDPR website, users must give clear consent before data can be collected. It is now necessary to inform the user how data is collected and handled. Therefore, the privacy policy must be accessible and easy for the user to understand. Website users should have an idea of what kind of data will be collected and for what purpose, before agreeing to the terms of service, as non-compliance with the GDPR can result in heavy fines and even lawsuits.
There are many different aspects of the law that website hosting mobile number lookup philippines providers across Europe need to take into account, which can be quite complicated. But not everyone can afford to have a GDPR specialist in-house. Therefore, the following tips will give you a first impression of how your company and website can best comply with European data protection law on an ongoing basis. This guide will not contain legal advice, but it does attempt to establish a basic understanding of the GDPR requirements.
1. Know the terminology
Before you try to make your website GDPR compliant, you should have a basic understanding of the terminology.
Personal data
Personal data describes information that can identify an individual, either directly or through a combination of the data collected. Data that can identify an individual may include, but is not limited to, email address, IP address (which can predict a user's exact location), name, income, religion, or personal photographs. In addition, general website behavior is personal information, as cookies can track browsing activities across multiple websites (for example, what content users scroll through or click on).
Privacy Policy
The privacy policy describes what type of data you collect from your users and how that data is handled. Additionally, the privacy policy should contain a description of how personal data will be kept private or who will have access to the data. The privacy policy should be easily understandable and accessible to website users.
Data Processor and Controller
The data controller is the person or software that determines the purpose of the data and how it will be further processed. The data processor, on the other hand, is the natural person or software that processes and analyses the data on behalf of the data controller.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
What does it really mean to be GDPR compliant? Complying with the current GDPR can mean different things, depending on the company, the organization, its users, and the quality of the data. However, to be GDPR compliant in general, the company or individual collecting personal data must implement specific measures to ensure that it will be handled, processed, and stored securely by default.