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What Is GDPR?

Alex Flitton
Jun 19, 2018 8:05:00 AM

What Is GDPR?

If you haven’t noticed that every major company has updated its privacy policy, then you haven’t been noticing one of the most important revolutions in history. What is unique about this particular coup d’état, is the world-giant Facebook has been overthrown. Meaning, it can no longer use an individual’s data like it did in the past. These privacy policy updates that you have been getting in your email are the radioactive waste left by the nuclear explosion that was Facebook. At least the post Cambridge Analytica, and election engineering version.

As Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, goes from one hearing to the next, everyday people are left wondering what sort of privacy they have left as they stare at their Alexa, wondering who may be listening, while others continue posting statuses on their social media accounts like nothing ever happened.

In an effort to combat the irresponsible use of personal data, the European Union has enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Which, according to Investopedia, is “A legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information of individuals within the European Union (EU).” It changes the way international companies handle personal data and dictates the way privacy policies are written, as you may have seen.

What This Means For You

If your company collects personal data and stores it somewhere, you should read our article on Understanding GDPR for IoT Companies. Beyond complying with legal standards, people simply want to maintain their privacy and you should take that seriously. Even though GDPR is a legal standard from Europe, it is stirring new conversations in the US and is changing how consumers view privacy.

Steps To Ride The Storm Well

This list is a shortened version of the list we made in the article mentioned in the previous paragraph. We suggest companies do the following to face the GDPR storm head on:

  1. Collect and process data responsibly
  2. Make consent easy and clear to understand
  3. Know that GDPR could affect partners in your supply chain
  4. Keep a record of compliance
  5. Make privacy your business differentiator

If you follow these rules, your company will stand out in the eyes of consumers as trustworthy and reliable. So get ahead of the GDPR storm, avoid nuclear waste and delight your customers so they want to stay with you longer.

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