Important GDPR Facts For Website Owners

As the month of May begins, it is important for us to enlighten you about the major tenets of GDPR and how it affects website owners. Although you probably haven’t read the long document released by the European Union, we will cover the most important aspects of GDPR for website owners to get you prepared.

The GDPR is an acronym that stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is essentially a new legislation put forward by the European Union. It was passed in 2014 and is set to kick into effect on May 25, 2018.

Replacing the Data Protection Directive, GDPR is geared towards protecting internet consumers in Europe. Privacy is very hard to attain on the internet nowadays. However, with this new law, you can finally achieve some semblance of privacy as an avid internet user.

GDPR will give you immense control of your data like never before. As a GDPR website owner, you are no longer allowed to use vague statements in your privacy statements. Parents need to stand in before you can collect personal data from children under sixteen.

With GDPR, website users can now access your personal data banks. They will be able to discover why their data is being stored by you. As a website user, you can report websites that breach this new law. You can also potentially erase your personal data on websites. This essentially prevents third-party access to your data protecting you from dangerous hacks and breaches.

Information Covered Under the GDPR

•         Location, Cookie data, and IP addresses
•         Biometric Data
•         Political Inclinations
•         Ethnic or Racial Data
•         Sexual Orientation

What does the GDPR mean for your website?

Depending on the type of website you run, GDPR website owners must make some adjustments so as not to contravene the stringent set of rules and ensure your website is GDPR compliant.

Basic informational websites: Your website might be devoid of registration of any form, however, you need to take note of a few things. As long as you are catering to individuals from the European Union or making use of third-party services such as Google, you need to obtain consent from visitors. As a GDPR website owner, you must describe the need for and extent to which data will be processed in easy-to-read texts. This information must be available for perusal by visitors at any time. Your website should also give users the power to withdraw consent at any time.

Marketing Websites: Usually, marketing websites make use of Google Analytics or other third party services for tracking purposes. The data these services hold should be GDPR compliant. Mailing lists, addresses, and phone number must be GDPR compliant i.e. easily accessible and withdraw able. Already existing lists that contravene the GDPR must be deleted. The only personal user data that should be on your website is the one you really need.

E-commerce Websites: Consent should be made clear at all times. You should make sure that your website is GDPR complaint by clearing all pre-ticked boxes and respecting the privacy of your customers. E-commerce Websites make use of a lot of marketing tools and widgets. Make sure that they are GDPR compliant. You can even contact the vendors of these tools directly if you have any issues.

Conclusion

There are huge fall-outs from breaching GDPR laws. Organizations that breach the law may be fined up to 4% of their annual turnovers, so GDPR for website owners is nothing to ignore. If you own a website and collect any customer information from people within the EU, these laws may affect you. At TPP Web Solutions we can evaluate your websites and advise you on what steps to take to make sure your website is always in the right and GDPR compliant. Contact us today to find out more.