The tides are shifting in the world of online security and here at YellowWebMonkey we want to ensure our customers are fully informed on the latest changes to security policy.
The most significant and recent reform has come with the passage of the GDPR by the EU. To save you time, we’ve created our own little summary of how the GDPR may affect your online presence.
1. What is the GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. In short, it aims to give online users more control over how their personal data is used and requires businesses to maintain a greater level of transparency regarding their data management techniques.
2. But wait, if the GDPR was passed by the EU, is my American business even affected?
Due to the world-wide nature of the internet, most websites will be affected. The GDPR protects citizens of the EU by ensuring all businesses that market, sell, or communicate with people who live in the EU must adhere to the new regulation.
3. Ok, so what pieces of the GDPR will most likely affect American sites?
- Clear Consent: Consent to collect personal data from site visitors must be clearly and unambiguously asked for. Websites must clearly state how that data will be used and cannot hide data usage policies in long paragraphs of legalese.
- Easy Opt-out: It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it. This includes offering opt-outs in emails and on site-based forms.
- Accessible Information: Users can request to know what personal information a site is using, how they are using it, and who they are sharing it with. Site managers must be able to electronically share this information with any site users who request it.
- Expungeable Data: Not only must site managers give users an easy way to opt-out, but they must also be willing to delete and destroy any personal information users no longer wish to share.
So now what?
Your YWM team is here to ensure your website is squeaky clean in regards to the GDPR guidelines. For all maintenance clients, we are offering a GDPR audit for 30 minutes of ticket time. During this audit, a design specialist will identify areas of non-compliance and offer potential solutions.
If you’d rather do your own research and make the changes yourself, here are a few of our favorite resources concerning the GDPR:
- Our favorite summary of the regulation
- The official 100+ page legal document outlining the GDPR
- Our favorite Joomla tool to create GDPR compliant forms
If you still have questions about the GDPR, please contact us today so we can calm your fears. We want to ensure any transition to compliance is as seamless as possible for you and your site visitors so don’t hesitate to reach out!
