In the last few months, have you gotten tons of privacy policy updates from businesses (banks, online services, etc.)? Does every website you go to now tell you to accept it’s cookie policy? Thank the EU GDPR! I have to deal with implementing measures to become EU GDPR compliant at work. I’ve written about protecting yourself from IOT devices and security tips you should implement. This is primarily about protecting your data from hackers. EU GDPR is a twist on that theme where the government is trying to help you protect your data by giving you control. In this article, I’ll briefly explain the EU GDPR and then provide a few short videos from experts to help you fully understand the regulation and how it affects you.
EU GDPR brief overview
EU GDPR stands for European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). EU GDPR is an EU law that went into effect May 25, 2018. The GDPR governs provides data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. The GDPR aims primarily to give control over personal data to citizens and residents. Even though it is an EU law, it affects any US company with EU customers and thus they have to make changes to their websites and data collection methods that often affect all of their customers. Here are a few videos to help explain more.
What is the EU GDPR?
Here is a brief video from TECH Quickie that does an excellent job of explaining the EU GDPR.
How/Why does the GDPR affect me?
If you live in the US or somewhere else outside the EU you might be wondering how the GDPR will affect you. Here is a short Q&A session from the Wall Street Journal that describes the GDPR and why it affects you:
What does the GDPR mean for companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon?
Facebook, Google, and Amazon have all had major changes to their privacy settings and notifications in order to comply with GDPR. In many cases, even if you aren’t in the EU, these changes will affect you.
What has been the fallout from the GDPR so far?
Companies are struggling to define and implement compliance. Some companies have blocked EU users altogether because they don’t believe they can comply. We are only at the beginning of this law and the long-term impacts are still being determined.
https://youtu.be/Vs934ODl9Q0
I hope these experts have answered most of your questions about the GDPR. If you have other questions or comments let me know! Contact me on social media or in the comments below!
