The European Union’s (EU) recently implemented General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) law is designed to safeguard personal data collection and processing of EU citizens.
The primary purpose of this law is to provide EU citizens with control over how their data is used. The law began applying to businesses in Europe from May 2018, but an upcoming law may have a peripheral effect on businesses all over the world. It will concern ‘increased territorial scope’, which means it would impact Australian companies that market to EU citizens.
GDPR restricts the ability of a business to transfer personal data. Under GDPR, compliance of data, need to follow several basic principles which include, but aren’t limited to the transparency of data processes, the right to consent and restrict consent, and ensuring that the data is secured until a time that it’s no longer valid or expires.
Any monitoring of online behaviour such as the tracking of a customer’s digital movements and internet-based marketing will be impacted.
Why is GDPR expanding beyond EU Territories?
The EU parliament has started to increase the scope of its data management control and now expect all businesses to comply with it, including major corporations like Google, Amazon, and Facebook as well as small online stores.
A failure to adhere to these new laws can amount to fines of up to 31.4 AUD million or 4% of your company’s total worldwide annual turnover – taking into account the company’s ability to pay for penalties.
How will this law affect my business outside the EU?
If you’re an Australian company marketing to EU citizens and collect information such as email addresses or personal details, it’s advisable that you evaluate your data processing activities.
GDPR is a complex legal issue, it’s best to consult with a legal professional to see if anything needs to be changed with your data processing methods and general operations.
A good place to start is by making your website GDPR compliant. This is something we can assist with. We can work with your legal professional to make your website compliant.