GDPR – What does it mean

GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation, what it means and how is it implemented?

Whether we like it or not, GDPR has become an acronym that anyone in the tech industry, or anyone who browses the internet in any way, has become familiar with recently.  Enforced by the EU, it’s a method to protect a user’s digital rights.  In its broadest sense: it allows a user to review, approve, revoke, or delete any or all of their data from websites that may collect information about a visitor.

The Deadline: May 2018

In May 2018, the GDPR became enforceable.  Which means that all of our websites had to be compliant with EU law.  We need to be able to track, edit or remove user data if requested.  And at the same time, keep track of these requests and trace their processes from start to finish.  Thankfully, there are some very useful tools available that helped us get ready for this.

Privacy Policies, and Cookie Policies

Every site we manage, now has a specific Privacy Policy and Cookie policy on it, outlining what data is collected, how it is collected and what it is collected for.  For the most part, these are cookies that remember certain things about a visitor so that we can track traffic and see what links and pages are most popular.  Even this data is governed and should a customer request the removal of this, we need to be prepared and able to comply with that request.

Should a visitor request data removal

If a request is made for data removal, all the tools are in place for us to track this request, provide the data and abide by the wishes of the customer.  So we can accommodate any of these requests for any of our sites and provide all the required emails and documents.

Pinpoint investigated and found the best solution for our clients

We scoured the web trying to find the best solution that would work for all our clients.  That would ensure they are kept up to date, and the websites were compliant with any and all requirements of EU law.

Our 3rd party policy solution

We have adopted a solution which allows us to create unique policies for each client, and have those policies on their sites.  The legal aspects of these policies will be automatically updated should the law change at any point in the future.  The actual policies themselves are hosted on another website and our local sites reach out and get the content required.  This allows us to keep all the policies an and easy to review location, have them separate for each client, and have unique and customised sections as required by each client.