Companies that collect data from countries within the European Union likely heard of the GDPR checklist they need to fill in. This law is a crucial part of doing business in the continent, offering strict rules around customer data protection.
With the system in place for over half a decade, GDPR is a standard that any legitimate business needs to set to maintain compliance. So, what is GDPR compliance, and how does it impact several industries? Here’s everything you need to know.
Understanding GDPR Compliance
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most important law for companies collecting data from EU citizens. From a technological perspective, this regulation defines how organizations gather, store, and manage personal data.
The GDPR law came into effect in April 2016 and applied to all businesses worldwide, with customers in the European Union. Even international companies that do not operate in the region must comply, as long as they intend to collect information on EU citizens.
GDPR compliance is a set of standards that dictate how public or private enterprises collect, process, and store user data. This law is the basis for the European Union’s push for data protection and privacy, laying down a framework that every company must follow.
The GDPR checklist includes a rule that says data cannot be collected unless the people providing that data fully understand what they agree to. This means companies must take precautions to ensure users are giving informed consent. Additionally, companies must comply with European data protection laws, which means collecting and storing data securely.
Why Types Of Privacy Does The GDPR Protect?
The GDPR checklist is designed to protect the privacy of citizens living in the European Union. It seeks to regulate how information is collected and utilized, ensuring that businesses are transparent with customers.
More specifically, GDPR compliance governs seven areas of privacy, which include:
- General identity, including name, address, and ID numbers
- Web data, including geolocation, IP address, and cookies
- Racial or ethnic data
- Health and genetic data
- Biometric data
- Political opinions
- Sexual orientation and gender affiliation
While you may believe the risk of this happening is small, anyone with access to personal data can quickly move money. Whether stealing credit cards or using bank accounts, the danger of this happening is not small. Therefore, the GDPR wants to reduce this risk to ensure EU citizens are not scammed and get the best customer service possible.
What Businesses Are Subject To GDPR?
The GDPR applies to every enterprise that collects information from EU citizens. This law is relevant to companies of all sizes, from large multinational corporations to mom-and-pop shops. In fact, even national governments must comply with this law.
Regardless of where your company is based, as long as you run an online business, you must comply with the GDPR. You must comply with the following criteria:
- You have an office or branch within the EU
- You intend to collect personal data from EU citizens
- You have more than 250 employees
- You carry out regular data processing operations that affect the freedoms and rights of the data subjects
These are generalized enough to cover most industries without a lot of exceptions to anyone.
How Does GDPR Affect Your Industry?
While GDPR compliance generally affects all industries, it does so differently. This is because not every industry deals with the same types of data.
1. Social Media And Marketing
Social media and marketing companies are among the most affected by the GDPR, as many of them capitalize on collecting customer data for analytics. Most online communities are tasked to fully disclose their data collection practices and ask for full consent on using client data.
GDPR is making it hard for social media to track customers, with the law leading to penalties for extensive social media and tech companies like Facebook and Google. However, all these penalties and disclosure improve general consumer data protections as intended.
2. Baking And Finance
The GDPR checklist also dramatically impacts the banking and finance sector. As the most important financial regulator in the EU, the GDPR closely follows banking and how customer data is collected and stored.
With the threat of personal and financial data being stolen, banks must comply with GDPR standards to ensure customer privacy. This includes clearly stating what data is being collected, how it will be used, and how it will be stored.
3. Healthcare
The healthcare industry is subject to several rules under the GDPR compliance checklist. Medical data must only be collected if the user consents, as it is considered sensitive. Additionally, all data collected must be stored securely, including billing information and medical records.
The healthcare field is also affected significantly by GDPR. Many health laws in Europe govern how patient data is collected, stored, and used, including handling health data.
However, some argue that GDPR compliance is too strict for the healthcare industry and that violations can cause great harm. Medical experts warn that violating GDPR can nullify insurance in a medical emergency.
4. eCommerce
Online store owners must adapt to new standards under GDPR compliance. This includes requiring users to be fully aware of any collection or usage of their personal data. You must have this consent before storing or shipping an order; otherwise, you are breaking GDPR compliance.
Beyond these legal requirements, you must also be transparent about marketing promotions. You cannot disguise a marketing campaign as a survey or newsletter in an attempt to collect personal data.
Moreover, the GDPR also requires eCommerce stores to confirm user consent to the collected data. This is because several customers may be browsing without realizing what can happen with the information provided.
5. Artificial Intelligence
AI is one of the fastest growing fields in technology, with several tech companies building AI-powered software. However, the GDPR checklist does pose some challenges, as companies must disclose who is responsible when a machine is collecting data.
If an AI-powered device, like a voice assistant, collects information about many people, that person or organization must be made aware. If it isn’t, this would be a GDPR violation.
The Bottom Line
While complying with GDPR standards may seem difficult, doing so can help you win sales in Europe. Getting your company GDPR compliant can reduce the risk of data loss and credit card fraud, meaning your customers can feel safe while shopping with you.
Additionally, GDPR compliance makes your company look more trustworthy, increasing the chances that users will choose you over your competition.
