Introduction
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law enacted by the European Union (EU) that came into effect on May 25, 2018. It aims to enhance individuals’ control and rights over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international businesses by unifying data protection laws within the EU.
Key Principles of GDPR:
Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.
Purpose Limitation: Data should be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner incompatible with those purposes.
Data Minimization: Data collection should be limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.
Accuracy: Personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
Storage Limitation: Personal data should be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.
Integrity and Confidentiality: Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
Rights of Individuals:
Right to Access: Individuals have the right to access their personal data and information about how it is being processed.
Right to Rectification:
Individuals can request the correction of inaccurate personal data.
Right to Erasure: Also known as the “right to be forgotten,” individuals can request the deletion of their personal data under certain conditions.
Right to Restriction of Processing: Individuals can request the limitation of their data processing under certain circumstances.
Right to Data Portability: Individuals have the right to receive their personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to another controller.
Right to Object: Individuals can object to the processing of their personal data on grounds relating to their particular situation.
Rights Related to Automated Decision Making and Profiling:
Individuals have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects or significantly affects them.
Compliance Requirements for Businesses:
Consent:
Businesses must obtain clear and explicit consent from individuals before collecting their personal data.
Data Protection Officers (DPO):
Organizations that engage in large-scale processing of sensitive data must appoint a Data Protection Officer.
Data Breach Notifications:
Organizations must report data breaches to the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.
Impact Assessments:
Businesses must conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) when processing operations are likely to result in high risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals.
International Data Transfers:
GDPR sets out conditions for the transfer of personal data outside the EU to ensure that the level of protection of individuals’ data is not undermined.
Penalties for Non-Compliance:
Non-compliance with GDPR can result in severe fines. Organizations can be fined up to 4% of their annual global turnover or €20 million, whichever is higher, for the most serious infringements.
GDPR has set a high standard for data protection worldwide, influencing data protection laws and practices beyond the EU, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding personal data in the digital age.