GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulations and over the last few years it has become the talking point for many major cases that have caused major privacy concerns.
The way people’s data has been handled in the past has been poor to non-existent. Companys that have collected your data have also sold this off to the highest bidder to assist them in marketing certain products and swaying your own choices. The Cambridge Analytica case involving Facebooks privacy controls and how they handled and stored the publics personal data is a prime example. Since these scandals laws across the globe have been introduced to help keep your privet data privet.
But Does This Affect Me?
This is not a simple yes or no, it all depends on where you work, if you are collecting data, is it for individual personal use or for-profit business even your own business. There are plenty of courses that can be tailored specifically to you and the information is out there but here we can give you enough information to help guide you to where you need to go and what you need to know.
Personal Domestic Use
If you are going to set up a Facebook group to organise something for your friends and family, then this is clearly personal and domestic.
Now if you were going to start or set up a forum that could generate data for potentially thousands of people. This some of this data may be classed as personal and you would have no connection with these people. It’s a bit of a grey area and would need professional advice to guide you properly. Although it isn’t for-profit the fact you have access to so much data from so many people it may mean you will require GDPR compliance.
Where You Work
If you work anywhere where you are asking for or given personal details from payments over the phone, where you would be taking card or bank detail and personal information like addresses or ownership of anything like cars for example. Then you will have to abide by GDPR compliance and should be given training on how to do this. If you have not received training, you need to make sure that you ask for it.
If your job does not require you to take any personal details, then GDPR is not something that does apply to you. For example, if you are a builder’s labours that works on a site you would not know who owns the site or any details about them. You would be simply turning up to work and utilising your trade knowledge to get the job done.
Own Your Own Business
If you are taking anyone’s personal details GDPR still applies to you. As long as any data that has been taken or give is only kept between you and the client then this is fine, but you cannot ask for anything that isn’t necessary and make sure that no one else can access it. It has to be kept private and for your eyes only. Once it is not needed it should be deleted or destroyed to keep the data safe.
CCPA
CCPA stands for California Consumer Privacy Act. The CCPA was enacted to protect the information of California residents. Like other privacy laws, CCPA includes some basic tenets of data protection as well as provisions to notify data subjects about the uses of their data, like who is going to see their data and when. There are checklists available to make sure you are aware of what CCPA compliance entails.
Privacy Concerns
The saying if the shoe was on the other foot, comes into play here heavily. Imagine if someone was willing to sell the data you had given them in confidence. If you applied for a supermarket loyalty card so you could build up loyalty points to spend later or to get the latest offers and deals you would not imagine that they would sell your data to another company. They would be able to market your data which consists of who you are, where you are and what you regularly buy. These may sound like extremes, but these are the reasons that GDPA have had to come into effect.
Final Thought’s
Being up to date with GDPR guidelines may sound complicated but in reality, it’s really quite simple. If you are dealing with personal data, you should look for some professional training that relates to your area. This training can be delivered online, a good way to be sure that it is relevant to you is to consult your local government website and ask for advice. This way you can be safe in the knowledge that what you are doing is correct.
