5 years of the GDPR

A brief history of the GDPR

The EU GDPR has applied to the processing of EU residents’ personal data since May 25, 2018. The Regulation gives individuals (known as data subjects) much greater control over how organizations process, or control the processing of, their personal data.

The benefits of GDPR compliance

There are great advantages to GDPR compliance. The law promotes greater transparency and accountability, and aims to increase public trust by giving individuals more control over their data. By getting data protection right, organizations will enhance their reputation, and build better, trusted relationships with existing and potential customers.

The business benefits of the GDPR include:

• Building customer trust
• Enhancing brand image and reputation
• Improving data governance
• Strengthening information security
• Winning new business in the EU

Personal data must be processed according to the six data processing principles. It must:

• Be processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)
• Be collected only for specific, legitimate purposes (‘purpose limitation’)
• Be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary (‘data minimization’)
• Be accurate and kept up to date (‘accuracy’)
• Be stored only as long as is necessary for the purposes specified (‘storage limitation’)
• Be processed in a secure manner “using appropriate technical and organizational measures” (‘integrity and confidentiality’)

If you think you need to update your data processing activities, our products and services will help you identify and remediate any GDPR compliance gaps simply and effectively.