General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Everything You Need to Know

You’re not alone if you’ve ever hesitated to share your data with a website. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) allows you to manage your data more effectively. Designed to protect your privacy, the GDPR gives you, as an EU citizen, the power to decide how your personal information is used.

When you visit a site, check if it’s secure (look for the HTTPS padlock). You may also leave if it asks for too much personal information. Businesses now must consider your trust before anything else, and GDPR ensures they do.

Adopted on April 27, 2016, and enforceable since May 25, 2018, GDPR brought strict rules about how businesses manage personal data. While some thought it would harm businesses, it’s done the opposite—building trust between customers and companies. Transparent data handling reassures you, making you more likely to engage with a business.

GDPR sets out clear rules for how businesses handle your data. Think about all the information companies collect: your email when you sign up for a newsletter, your address when you order a product or even the cookies that track your browsing. GDPR ensures they use that information responsibly.

Your data isn’t just numbers—it’s sensitive information, including details like your political opinions, religious beliefs, or health data, protected under GDPR. This protection ensures that your most personal information is respected and kept secure. GDPR gives you control over the information you share and how businesses use it.

For example, you’re shopping online, and a website asks for your phone number. GDPR makes it your choice whether to provide it and if you don’t, the company can’t penalize you.

When businesses handle your data, they must follow these rules:

• Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: You understand how your data works
• Purpose limitation: Your data can only serve the reason it was collected
• Data minimization: Companies should only collect what’s necessary
• Accuracy: Your data must be correct and up-to-date
• Storage limitation: Companies can’t keep your data forever
• Integrity and confidentiality: Your data must be secure
• Accountability: Businesses must prove they follow these rules

Imagine signing up for a rewards program at your favorite store. Under GDPR, the store can’t use your email to send unrelated offers without your permission.

You also get specific rights to control your data:

• Right to be informed: Know why and how your data operates
• Right of access: Request a copy of your data
• Right to rectification: Correct inaccurate data
• Right to erasure (right to be forgotten): Ask companies to delete your data
• Right to restrict processing: Limit how companies use your data
• Right to data portability: Transfer your data to another service
• Right to object: Say no to data processing, like marketing emails
• Rights related to automated decision-making: Challenge decisions made by algorithms

For example, if an online retailer continues to send newsletters after you unsubscribe, GDPR allows you to take action.

If you’re in the UK, GDPR still applies under UK GDPR. This version is almost identical to the EU GDPR but adjusts to UK laws. If you’re a business in the UK, you’ll follow this version while ensuring compatibility with EU rules for any international customers. This ensures that data protection standards remain high, regardless of Brexit.

The Most Recent Updates You Can’t Miss

• Cookies: Have you ever noticed those cookie banners popping up everywhere? That’s GDPR in action. Companies need your explicit consent to track you online.

• AI and Data: If a company uses AI tools to process your data, GDPR requires them to stay transparent about handling your information.

• Data Transfers: When moving data outside the EU, companies must prove they’re keeping it secure, thanks to GDPR’s strict rules. These rules apply primarily to sensitive information and ensure data protection transfer practices meet GDPR requirements. This is crucial for protecting data during transfer to places like the United States.