The count down is on for so many as May looms ever closer. With the 25th being doomsday; when GDPR takes effect. Is it really a big deal though? Lots of companies and online sources are saying it is, but with many of them standing to benefit from your fear, whether by reading more of their information or offering advice, their attitude must be taken with a pinch of salt.

Now of course the change of laws that effect so many companied does matter, but we have had this before, in 1998. Sure, this is 20 years ago but people managed then, and they will again. The important this is to calmly go through the information and advice available online, rather than subscribing to the mass hysteria.

Here are some important changes to investigate:

OPT IN: People can no longer be expected to opt out of lists if they are not interested. You must only give the option to opt in.

Anonymity: It will be a criminal offence to use data about a person which is anonymous, and then to use that and research into who that person is.

Fines: A failure to process data properly can now lead to fines given to companies by regulators.

Time scale: Companies will now have a limit of 24 hours to alert the relevant authorities if a data breach takes place.

All in all, a change of law that effects so many companies can be a big deal, but with good planning ahead of time and an awareness of potential issues the transition can be easy and smooth.

If you are concerned about GDPR make sure you check out these resources: https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/data-protection-dpa-and-eu-data-protection-regulation

https://ico.org.uk/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf

What do you think about the introduction of GDPR? Do you think it’s reasonable change? Let us know by emailing your opinion to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.