The Essential Guide for GDPR Compliance

It is a common practice for businesses to collect sensitive customer data as they visit their websites. Typically, businesses collect this data to enhance existing services, narrow down on high-value consumers, and brainstorm ideas for marketing products.

If consumers consent to the collection, businesses must take active measures to protect the collected data due to its sensitive nature. Different states, countries, and jurisdiction unions have enacted several regulations in recent years to ensure that organizations protect consumers’ privacy.

For instance, the EU employs the GDPR as the legal basis for enforcing protections for its citizens. Here is a look at all you need to know about GDPR, what it is, GDPR compliance in the US, the checklist for compliance, audit, and benefits.

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the culmination of the EU’s radical new approach to data security. On May 25, 2018, the GDPR’s strict privacy requirements went into force to safeguard individuals’ rights. It is an approach aimed at ensuring that all EU citizens’ private information is safe and secure.

GDPR Compliance in the US

Even if your organization is in the US, you must have GDPR compliance when dealing with EU citizens’ personal information. The GDPR specifies the following information as potentially containing personal data:

• A sales lead generator with information on potential customers, such as their names, email addresses, and phone numbers.
• Websites visitors’ email addresses
• Information collected through electronic commerce databases
• Customer names that have visited your website

GDPR Compliance Checklist in the US1. Performing data audit

The first step on the GDPR compliance checklist is to find out precisely what personal information your organization handles and if some belong to persons in the European Union, as stated in Recital 23 of the GDPR.

If you are handling such data, you need to determine if it is to offer products or services to the data subjects in question and whether a financial transaction accompanies such an offer.

2. Obtaining consent

Data privacy laws acknowledge consent as the legitimate reason for processing personal information. Organizations need to acquire consumers’ consent before using their data.

For GDPR compliance, you must explicitly obtain consent from data subjects and get affirmative action to consider their consent "free." GDPR compliance also requires websites to expressly obtain user consent before collecting personal information using contact forms, email lists, subscription forms, and other methods.

3. Performing Data Protection Impact Assessment

A data protection impact assessment (DPIA) aims to evaluate the potential negative consequences of collecting and using individuals’ personal information and develop plans to reduce or eliminate them.

In data security, having a firm grasp of the potential dangers to personal information is crucial for making informed decisions and crafting effective policies. The first step in a DPIA is to list every activity that involves collecting or processing personally identifiable information and then identify how vulnerable individuals’ privacy is.

4. Reviewing agreements with your vendors

For GDPR compliance, the data controller must enter a contract, and the data processor must follow the controller’s specific instructions.

If you are a data controller and your third-party clients are not in GDPR compliance, law enforcers will hold you partially responsible as the data controller. All third parties involved in transmitting or storing personal information on your behalf fall under this category.

5. Appointing a representative and Data Protection Officer

The GDPR mandates entities outside the EU to have a representative in one of the EU members states, as outlined in Article 27. You can find more information regarding this function in Recital 80.

Also, if your business falls under one of these three categories, the GDPR mandates you appoint a data protection officer (DPO):

• Do data processing on specific types of information
• If your organization falls within the public entity or authority category, except for courts and independent judicial bodies.
• Process people’s personal information regularly on an enormous scale.

A DPO monitors compliance and is familiar with the procedures for determining whether your company fully has GDPR compliance. The DPO also informs top management of the potential for data breaches.

6. Reporting Data Breaches

For GDPR compliance, businesses need immediate notification of any breach involving personally identifiable information. Article 33 of the law requires top-level controllers and processors to notify of data breaches within 72 hours. Using robust encryption can lessen your responsibility to report a data breach and the associated consequences.

GDPR Compliance Audit

A GDPR compliance audit objectively and methodically assesses a company’s GDPR compliance. Businesses conduct audits for GDPR compliance to check if they are doing everything they should to comply with the GDPR and find any weak spots that a data breach could exploit.

GDPR Compliance Benefits

Some of the GDPR compliance benefits for organizations and businesses include:

Better data security

Recent reports of data breaches have highlighted the necessity of strong cybersecurity measures. Cyberattacks are frequently increasing, putting even more of a threat to your organization’s reputation than before.

Taking serious data protection is smart, and the GDPR may help you set up a more secure process. To achieve GDPR compliance, businesses must establish a security strategy and implement appropriate administrative and technical safeguards to protect the personal data of EU citizens.

Improved business reputation

As a business, you risk tarnishing your reputation and products or services labelled deceptive if you don’t try to reasonably protect your customers’ privacy. You can save money on fines and gain untapped value in your reputation and brand if you protect customers’ personal data.

GDPR compliance will increase consumer loyalty and trust and open doors to innovation and value-generation opportunities.

Enhanced data management

One of the most important things you have to do is sort through massive amounts of data, which is near impossible.

GDPR compliance is a fantastic motivation to clean up your office files, refresh your client profiles, and apply more secure data measurement procedures. That will strengthen your company’s management system and make it more robust and secure.

Increase Marketing Return on Investment (ROI)

The GDPR requires that organizations get explicit consent from data subjects before collecting and using their personal information.

GDPR compliance, combined with removing any ROT information slowing down your marketing, will leave you an appreciative customer base and a highly targeted database of leads. That results in a better ROI on your marketing thanks to more clicks, sales, and shares on social media.

Final Word: GDPR Compliance by Adzapier

Every company should assess its present security measures and data protection procedures considering the EU’s increased enforcement of the GDPR. Adzapier helps businesses create and enforce thorough and effective security protocols and data protection measures.

Our automated GDPR compliance systems allow you to assess your present information security architecture and identify vulnerabilities swiftly.