The World Wide Web has revolutionized the way we access information, socialize, and do business. But online privacy is an ongoing concern for both regulators and consumers.
From sign-up forms to website cookies, almost every online service requires users to share information about themselves.
Naturally, this has generated a host of privacy & policy issues, prompting governments around the world to regulate the collection, usage and sale of user data.
One of the earliest privacy laws passed in the US was the 2003 California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), which required businesses to have a privacy policy featured on their website.
As the Internet and technology continues to evolve, however, regulators have had to play catch up with new challenges and gray areas around the way businesses and consumers track and exchange data, particularly in a globalized world.
What is the GDPR?
In 2016, the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): the most comprehensive data privacy legislation that has been passed to date.
The GDPR consists of 99 articles that updated and expanded previous laws around data processing in the EU.
“Data processing” refers to the “collection, recording, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of personal data.” (European Commission).
It also provides EU citizens with a set of eight “data rights” that give them more control over their personal data and privacy.
For example, a person has the right to withdraw previously given consent for their data to be processed by an organization.
The reason why the GDPR has received so much attention from companies and regulators is because it has such a broad scope.
Any organization, regardless of where they are located, may need to comply with the GDPR if they process the data of someone based in the EU.
Unlike previous privacy policy laws, the GDPR is particularly harsh when it comes to enforcement.
Since coming into effect in 2018, regulatory authorities have handed down million-dollar fines to companies like Google and Facebook for failing to properly disclose how they were using people’s personal data, amongst other egregious offences.
Complying with the GDPR isn’t easy, but the laws have significantly changed the way many organizations manage user privacy and pushed for higher standards of transparency and data security. For more information, visit our GDPR compliance page for more information, or use our comprehensive generator to generate a GDPR Privacy Policy.