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Data privacy and security.
In the past three years, there has been a 42% increase in the number of internet users worldwide. That brings the total number of internet users to a whopping 3.8 billion users as of April 2017. Sorry Bill Gates, it’s official, the internet is not just a fad.
It’s incredible to think about all of the information that is getting shared worldwide. But something that more and more people are considering is how the personal data internet users share with companies is being used.
Communities around the world have called for stricter regulation. The European Union has answered that call by introducing the General Data Protection Regulation.
What is GDPR compliance?
The EU General Data Protection Regulation is a set of policies that protect and empower all European Union residents to protect their personal data online and regulate the way businesses in the region approach data privacy protection. This regulation is set to replace the existing Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC.
All personal data of EU residents is protected by the GDPR. This protection covers personal information like email addresses, IP addresses, home addresses, dates of birth, online financial information, and more. To sum it up—the GDPR protects all personal data across any online platform.
When is the GDPR coming into effect?
Now that you’re all caught up on the changes coming with the GDPR, the next thing you need to know is when all these changes are going into effect. All you need to remember is: May 25, 2018
Who’s affected?
If your business is located in the EU or does business with EU residents, you will be affected by the upcoming GDPR. Businesses are required to ask customers to opt-in to sharing their personal data. If your business has any customers in the EU or is located within the EU, you must be compliant by May 25th, 2018. Failure to comply with the new regulation will result in hefty fines.
What do you need to do?
The short answer? Your business needs to be fully GDPR complaint by May 25th, 2018. That means you have to completely understand the complex policies. Your business needs to adapt and update according to the GDPR. You need to constantly monitor and manage the data privacy and security for your business.
There’s no question—it’s a lot of work. But if you are planning on doing business with any EU residents, you are required to uphold GDPR compliance by the deadline.
What is FastSpring doing about the GDPR?
If your business is accepting payments from EU residents, your ecommerce platform needs to be GDPR compliant. At FastSpring, we’re committed to being fully GDPR compliant by the May 25, 2018 deadline. For updates and more information around GDPR, please visit fastspring.com/gdpr.
In an effort to become fully GDPR compliant by the deadline, we are in the process of updating the consent process for all forms. Our forms and the forms our customers create as part of the checkout process will include an opt-in checkbox that informs a contact about the status of their data and allows them to provide consent to the terms.
Our team is also working on updating our legal documentation—including the terms of service and privacy policy—as required by the GDPR changes.
We will continue to focus on updating our business practices to be in compliance with the upcoming regulations. Customer privacy and security is one of our top priorities.
Disclaimer: Please note this blog post is not intended for use as legal advice for your company in complying with EU data privacy laws including the GDPR. The purpose of this blog is to provide background information to assist businesses and individuals who are interested in learning more about the upcoming regulation. Please contact an attorney for legal advice regarding your business.
