GDPR

GDPR

GDPR

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and was developed to create one organization for data privacy laws across Europe, protecting all EU citizens' data privacy worldwide.

The aim of the GDPR is to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches in an increasingly data-driven world that is vastly different from the time in which the 1995 directive was established. Although the key principles of data privacy still hold true to the previous directive, many changes have been proposed to the regulatory policies; the key points of the GDPR as well as information on the impacts it will have on business can be found below.

This information has been taken from the GDPR website.

Increased Territorial Scope (extra-territorial applicability)
The GDPR has extended jurisdiction, since it applies to all companies worldwide that process EU citizens' personally identifiable information (PII) worldwide.  Non-Eu businesses processing the data of EU citizens will also have to appoint a representative in the EU. 

Penalties
Under GDPR organizations in breach of GDPR can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is greater). This is the maximum fine that can be imposed for the most serious infringements: e.g.,not having sufficient customer consent to process data or violating the core of Privacy by Design concepts. 

Consent
The conditions for consent have been strengthened, and companies will no longer be able to use long illegible terms and conditions full of legalese, as the request for consent must be given in an intelligible and easily accessible form, with the purpose for data processing attached to that consent. 

Data Subject Rights

Breach Notification

Under the GDPR, breach notification will become mandatory in all member states where a data breach is likely to “result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals”. This must be done within 72 hours of first having become aware of the breach. Data processors will also be required to notify their customers, the controllers, “without undue delay” after first becoming aware of a data breach. 

Right to Access
Part of the expanded rights of data subjects outlined by the GDPR is the right for data subjects to obtain from the data controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning them is being processed, where and for what purpose. Further, the controller shall provide a copy of the personal data, free of charge, in an electronic fromat. This change is a dramatic shift to data transparency and empowerment of data subjects.

Right to be Forgotten
Also known as Data Erasure, the right to be forgotten entitles the data subject to have the data controller erase his/her personal data, cease further dissemination of the data, and potentially have third parties halt processing of the data. The conditions for erasure, as outlined in article 17, include the data no longer being relevant to original purposes for processing, or a data subjects withdrawing consent. It should also be noted that this right requires controllers to compare the subjects' rights to "the public interest in the availability of the data" when considering such requests.

Data Portability
GDPR introduces data portability - the right for a data subject to receive the personal data concerning them, which they have previously provided in a 'commonly use and machine readable format' and have the right to transmit that data to another controller. 

Privacy by Design
Privacy by design as a concept has existed for years now, but it is only just becoming part of a legal requirement with the GDPR. At it’s core, privacy by design calls for the inclusion of data protection from the onset of the designing of systems, rather than an addition. 


Data Protection Officers
Unlike the EU Data Protection Directive, under GDPR it will not be necessary to submit notifications / registrations to each local DPA of data processing activities, nor will it be a requirement to notify/obtain approval for transfers based on the Model Contract Clauses (MCCs). Instead, there will be internal record keeping requirements, and DPO appointments, but only for those whose core activities comprise processing operations that require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale or of special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offenses. 

ShieldQ and GDPR

ShieldQ is GDPR ready. User can contact a ShieldQ representative, who easily configures the organization’s system to restrict the movement of personal data to European-based servers. Suitable for any business or organization that sends personal data within the EU, ShieldQ's EU GDPR feature can be implemented per a specific account.

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