The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation has been in effect since 25th of May 2018. GDPR is a regulation that applies to all organizations that process personal data relating to individuals in the European Union (EU). GDPR is designed to give people more control over their own data, and it has set out strict guidelines for how this data should be used. GDPR compliance means making sure your website complies with GDPR’s requirements, so you can avoid hefty fines or even closure if you’re found non-compliant!
Learn more about GDPR software and find out how it can help your business stay GDPR compliant.
This article will help you understand what GDPR actually involves, why it matters and how you can make your website compliant.
Why Make Your Website GDPR Compliant?
If you’re an online business owner, then there’s a good chance that GDPR has been on your mind lately. This is because GDPR compliance is now mandatory for all companies that process the data of EU citizens, regardless of their location. Fines for non-compliance can be up to €20 million.
With the laws of the EU, it is very important to keep your clients’ data safe and let them control their data settings. The GDPR is the most important data protection law since 1995. Under the GDPR, organizations must meet stringent guidelines on how personal data may be handled and processed. Consent is one of the fundamental principles of lawful data processing under the GDPR, which implies that businesses will need to gain explicit consent from end-users before using their personal information.
To make your website GDPR compliant make sure to follow these steps:
A) Use Tools To Help You
There are many GDPR tools out there that can help manage data, settings and data storage. These can be a big help for you and you can either program your own tools or just use the help of someone who is specialized in that field. These tools can help manage user consent, track user activity, and more.
Tools will also help identify any areas of risk and provide solutions to make your website GDPR compliant. The tools will also keep track of all the changes made so you have a record of compliance.
This should be the basis of your work to comply with the regulations.
B) Check Your Settings
The GDPR also asks you to review your website’s current settings and make the necessary changes. This means that you need to check if cookies are enabled, how long user data is stored for and more.
C) Get Explicit Consent From Users
One of the most important things for GDPR compliance is getting explicit consent from users before using their personal data. This needs to be done in a clear and concise way so that users know exactly what they are agreeing to. You will need a system in place that records this consent as well as any other consent given by users.
D) Review Data Processing Activities
Data processing activities refer to any activity that involves the collection of personal data from individuals such as registering an individual’s information on a website form or storing their name and email address in a customer database. Any company must be able to provide evidence of the processing activities. So you have to make sure you know how your company is handling data.
E) Know How, Which and Where Information Is Stored
GDPR requires you to know where your customer data is stored, how it’s protected and what the information is used for. It also states that personal data must be deleted when no longer needed – meaning customers should have easy access to deleting their own account from your website if they wish so.
F) Review Privacy Policies and Terms Of Service Agreements
GDPR compliance means reviewing all legal documents on your website like Privacy Policies or Terms & Conditions agreements in order to ensure these are up-to-date with GDPR requirements. Make sure these state clearly what user rights are given when a person signs up and registers an account on your site (e.g. opt-out options).
G) Train Your Team
Determine who will be in charge of GDPR compliance for your business – This can be a person in your company, a third-party agency, or an internal crew. GDPR requires companies to have designated GDPR personnel in charge of data protection. However, all employees should be aware of the GDPR and their rights under it. As such, make sure to provide adequate training on GDPR for your entire staff – this will help ensure everyone is up-to-date on best practices when it comes to handling personal data.
If you stick to these steps you will have no problem being GDPR Compliant. GDPR is a big deal for companies, and all steps must be followed in order to avoid fines and keep data safe.
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