With the massive amount of data being produced and processed daily, it has become crucial for the governing authorities of a country to enforce stringent legislation on data collection, storage, and use by a company to protect individuals’ privacy and provide top-notch data protection. It is where GDPR, the core of EU’s data privacy and protection regulation, has come into action as an international standard for protecting consumer data rights.
However, organisations may find it challenging to comply with GDPR, whether for the complexity of the information provided or having serious misconceptions about the GDPR principles. So, what does GDPR mean in simple terms? Let’s look through.
What Does GDPR Mean in Simple Terms?
GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is the world’s most rigorous data protection legislation with 99 distinct articles. It has set a regulatory framework that organisations dealing with personal data processing within the European Union must adhere to – EU GDPR aims to ensure top-notch data privacy and protection, providing individuals with greater control over their personal data.
GDPR offers data subjects with specific rights – it describes how EU citizens can get informed about who is using their data and how it is being processed and restricts the rights of authorities within the EU and beyond about using and exporting people’s data.
After getting adopted unanimously by the European Council and European Parliament as a replacement for the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC in April 2016, the new EU GDPR came into action on 25th May 2018.
GDPR applies to all EU nations, ensuring more cohesive data protection across the EU and EEA, meaning all EU companies must comply with the rules; otherwise, they can be penalized. We will look into the penalties a company may face if it violates GDPR rules later on.
But why do you need a data protection policy? It helps a company dealing with people’s data and safeguard data integrity – for both data-in-transit and data-in-rest. Plus, they manifest how much a business is committed to protecting customers’ privacy.
Now, what is processing data under GDPR? According to the Data Directive, data processing is any operation conducted upon users’ personal information. It can be data consolidation, storage, manipulation, modification, transmission, disclosure, etc.
What is Personal Data in GDPR?
GDPR only applies when personal data is processed, no matter whether manual or a combination of automated and manual processes is employed for data processing. GDPR, in its Article 4 (1), defines ‘personal data’ as any data associated with an identifiable or identified individual.
Now Let’s look through what personal data GDPR protects:
- Names
- Contact information
- Genetics
- Biometrics
- Ethnic details
- Bank details
- Religious faith
- Political opinions
- Sexual preferences, and more.
GDPR Requirements
As we have already stated, The EU GDPR has replaced the Data Protection Directive of 1995. But no changes were brought about in the regulations set in the Directive 95/46/EC; rather the authority has introduced some new rules to make Directive core principles more robust and powerful.
But what are the GDPR requirements, and what should a GDPR policy contain? Let’s go through.
The GDPR requirements are:
Lawful, Transparent, and Fair Data Processing
According to the Art. 12 in GDPR, any business handling the personal information of EU residents must ensure fair, transparent, and lawful data processing. Let’s elaborate on these conditions a bit:
- With ‘lawful’, GDPR implies that an organisation can process personal data for a rightful purpose only.
- With ‘fair,’ GDPR means organisations are responsible for personal data processing and must not use that data for their own interest.
- With ‘transparent,’ GDPR implies that the authorities cannot process customer data without informing the user about how the data will be processed and the purpose behind it.
Limitation of Purpose, Data, and Storage
This obligation implies that users’ data must be used for explicit purposes only – organisations can collect and process data that is required only, cannot keep it longer than necessary, and the processing activities should not be contradictory with the set purpose.
Consent
If an organisation requires to process data beyond the set purpose, it must seek consent from the user and document it. If the user is a minor (under 16), the organisation must ask for written permission from his legal guardian.
Data Subject Rights
According to GDPR privacy policy, data subjects hold some rights, and a company dealing with the data must disclose and ensure them. So what are the data protection rights, or what rights do users have over their data in Europe?
Let’s look over:
- Right to get informed (Art. 13 and 14)
- Right to data access (Art. 15)
- Right to ask for rectification to their data if required by the data controller (Art 16 and 19)
- Right to be forgotten (Art. 17 and 19)
- Right to data portability (Art. 20)
- Right to stop data processing (Art. 18)
- Right to oppose processing (Art. 21)
- Right of not being a part of the automated decision-making process (Art. 22)
Data Breach
Any organisation within the EU must have a Data Breach Register to register all data breaches within its private network and adhere to EU GDPR’s proposed steps for better compliance. It must ensure top-notch data security against misuse, data theft, or loss by implementing all possible technological measures. Plus, it must inform the user and Data Protection Authority after detecting a data breach within 72 hours of identification.
Data Protection Impact Assessment
Before starting a new data processing project or making any changes in the existing activities, an organisation must carry out DPIA and detect and minimise the potential risks.
Data transfers
The data controller is held accountable for ensuring utmost privacy and data protection, whether the company or a third-party service within the EU and EEA processes that data.
Data Protection Officer
A company dealing with EU residents’ personal data must appoint a Data Protection Officer who will be responsible for training and educating the staff members about EU GDPR compliance.
Penalties for Violating GDPR Rules
Art. 83(5) GDPR describes that all EU organisations must implement robust GDPR compliance frameworks; otherwise, they would be penalised – the fine can be up to 4% of gross annual global turnover or 20 million euros, whichever is higher.
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