Protect EU personal data and demonstrate GDPR compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union's comprehensive data privacy law that came into effect on May 25, 2018. It regulates how organizations collect, process, store, and share personal data of EU residents. GDPR gives individuals greater control over their personal information and imposes strict obligations on organizations that handle this data.

Any organization that processes personal data of EU residents must comply with GDPR, regardless of where the organization is located. This includes companies based outside the EU that offer goods or services to EU residents or monitor their online behavior. Even a small SaaS company in the US with EU customers must comply.

GDPR violations can result in significant fines. Upper-tier violations (violations of basic principles, data subject rights, or international transfers) can result in fines up to 20 million euros or 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is higher. Lower-tier violations can result in fines up to 10 million euros or 2% of global revenue. Additionally, affected individuals can seek compensation for damages.

A DPIA is a risk assessment process required by GDPR Article 35 for processing activities that are likely to result in high risk to individuals. This includes systematic monitoring, large-scale processing of sensitive data, or automated decision-making. DPIAs help identify and minimize data protection risks before processing begins.

A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is mandatory if you are a public authority or body, if your core activities require regular and systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale, or if you process special categories of data (health, biometric, religious, etc.) on a large scale. Many organizations appoint a DPO voluntarily to demonstrate their commitment to data protection.

GDPR grants individuals eight key rights: Right to be informed, Right of access, Right to rectification, Right to erasure (right to be forgotten), Right to restrict processing, Right to data portability, Right to object, and Rights related to automated decision-making. Organizations must respond to these requests within one month.

GDPR requires organizations to notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to individuals' rights and freedoms. If the breach is likely to result in high risk, affected individuals must also be notified without undue delay.

GDPR restricts transfers of personal data outside the EU/EEA to countries that do not provide adequate data protection. Transfers require appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), Binding Corporate Rules, or reliance on adequacy decisions. Following the Schrems II ruling, additional assessments may be required for transfers to certain countries.