GDPR will make the data of European Union users much more secure than rest of the world

Data is the new gold, oil or dollar! It is the data which is ruling the world and will become more significant in the upcoming future. Ever since the fiasco of Cambridge Analytica followed by Mark Zuckerberg coming on record to testify before House Energy and Commerce Committee that Facebook failed to protect users from outside political interference and data misuse ahead of the 2016 presidential election- the worry for data security has increased manifolds.

The truth is out in the open about how internet behemoths like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon among others are not complying with the best practices of data use. Majority of us have no idea about how, when and where our personal data can be used for commercial or political use.

To curb this global confusion about best practices of data usage and its security, European Union (EU) is going to implement GDP across its member nations.

What is GDPR?

GDPR is General Data Protection Regulation and is being introduced to bring all the European Union members under the same umbrella of data regulation for identical enforcement of data protection laws in every country. Due to come into force from 25 May 2018, GDPR will protect EU citizens from misuse of data by organizations and will enable them to control which information they want to share or not.

Right to be Forgotten

GDPR also gives the right to the user to ask the businesses to completely erase their personal data without having to give any substantial clarification.

This means that European Union citizens will have better control over their data and privacy. This means that every bit of their personal data shared with companies will stand liable to adhere to the laws of GDPR in terms of how it is stored, used, and protected. The best part about GDPR regulation is the ‘Right to be Forgotten’. This means that the user can ask the businesses to completely erase their data without having to give any substantial clarification. GDPR aims to correct the trend of user data being bartered for free services provided by Google, Facebook, and others.

What are the Repercussions?

GDPR is a strictly drafted law and businesses which are found not abiding by the law can face up to fines of up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global annual turnover. However, the biggest fine will be reserved for the worst case scenario.

GDPR is not just limited to business operating from European Union. It is applied to all the businesses hailing from any part of the world who is servicing an EU customer. The unified law will also provide organizations more clarity about data usage compliance within European Union as they have to follow one set of rules instead of dozens of different rules.

General Data Protection Regulation is certainly going to make Europe’s data much more secure. Such kind of ruling is necessary for India as well, where the breach of Aadhar data is a common thing.

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