GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation – is known as the world’s most popular set of data protection rules, and the need for data protection has never been so high. You already know why data protection is so important for marketers all over the world. This strictness in the law applies to companies that collect, process, distribute, or store any personal data of EU citizens and failure to comply with these “set of rules” may leave you open to substantial fines.
GDPR sets out seven key principles:
- Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency
The principle of lawfulness states that data collection, data storing, and data processing must meet the requirements of the GDPR. In fairness, the law means that no company can withhold information like what and why they are collecting personal data for. Transparency, as the name implies, is being honest, clear, and open about your intentions for the collected data.
- Purpose limitation
Purpose limitation sets the rules for informing your clients why you are collecting their data and that this purpose must be cited, explicit, and legitimate. The collected data must only be used for the purpose the company got a client’s consent for.
- Data minimisation
Personal data to be collected should be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed. Under the GDPR you will have to justify the amount of data collected, so make sure to design an adequate policy and document it.
- Accuracy
Accuracy implies that the collected data is updated and correct in all its forms and any incomplete or incorrect stored data should be checked and updated on calendars by the company.
- Storage limitation
Companies must justify the length of time they are storing or keeping each piece of data. Data retention periods are a good thing to establish to meet this storage limitation policy. Create a standard period for the correct usage of collected data after which any unused or extra data is removed from all storage forms.
- Integrity and confidentiality (security)
Keeping the integrity and confidentiality of the collected data means keeping it secure from internal and external threats like damage, loss, or any unlawful process.
- Accountability
Companies can lie about how and why they are using the collected data, which is why accountability, with appropriate records, should be always available as evidence, in case you need to prove responsibility.
Do you want to learn more about GDPR and how it works? Take GDPR training for an in-depth course on the importance of data privacy regulation.
