What is GDPR?

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a comprehensive data protection and privacy law of the European Union (EU) that regulates how organizations collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data. It became applicable on May 25, 2018, and is designed to give individuals greater control over their personal information.

Key Principles of GDPR

• Lawfulness and transparency: Organizations must have a valid legal basis for processing personal data and explain their practices clearly.
• Purpose limitation: Data should be collected for specific, legitimate purposes and not used incompatibly with those purposes.
• Data minimization: Organizations should collect only the personal data they actually need.
• Accuracy: Personal information should be accurate and kept up to date where necessary.
• Storage limitation: Personal data should not be retained longer than necessary.
• Security: Organizations must use appropriate measures to protect personal data.
• Accountability: Organizations must be able to demonstrate compliance with GDPR requirements.

Key Rights of Individuals

GDPR gives individuals rights such as:

• Right to access their personal data.
• Right to rectification of inaccurate information.
• Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) in applicable circumstances.
• Right to data portability.
• Right to restrict processing.
• Right to object to certain processing activities, including some direct marketing.
• Rights related to automated decision-making and profiling in certain circumstances.

Who Does GDPR Apply To?

GDPR can apply to organizations inside or outside the EU if they offer goods or services to individuals in the EU or monitor their behavior there. Therefore, an ecommerce business based outside Europe may still need to comply when processing the personal data of people in the EU.

Example

If an ecommerce store collects a customer’s name, email address, shipping address, IP address, or purchase information, it needs to handle that information according to applicable GDPR requirements when GDPR applies.

In short: GDPR is a major privacy regulation that focuses on lawful data processing, transparency, security, and giving individuals greater control over their personal data.