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This is the last, final draft of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) agreed by the European Union. The regulation will be adopted in May 2018 to protect natural persons with regards to processing of personal data.

The GDPR regulates how personal data can be processed for specific purposes including scientific research or statistical analysis. The GDPR also regulates how personal data can be transferred outside of the European Union, providing stronger protections for citizens abroad.

The GDPR is an ambitious new project enabling citizens to make more informed decisions about their privacy and empowering them to refuse products or services that are not tailored exclusively for their needs. Fomoco News says that this regulation is essential to enable citizens, consumers, and employees to fully benefit from the digital transformation of the economy. It will ensure legal certainty for businesses, prevent fragmentation of markets and enable European startups to scale up fast.

General Data Protection Regulation

The General Data Protection Regulation introduces one law applicable to all member states where previously there were at least four different laws covering the same subject matter. This single law will ensure that there are clear rules about how data can be processed in the European Union. Rules that are clear and concise, easy to understand and enforceable. The Regulation helps to build trust in the Digital Single Market. It will help improve compliance with rules for businesses and reinforce protection for citizens across Europe.

The new EU-wide rules implement the Data Protection Directive, which was introduced in 1995 to protect personal data. Twenty years after the Data Protection Directive was adopted, technology has transformed our everyday lives. Users are increasingly concerned about how their data are used by both companies and public authorities. The new rules are designed to be fit-for-purpose, responding to users’ expectations and requirements in order to keep pace with the growth of the digital age while guaranteeing fundamental rights including respect for privacy.

Common set of rules

The GDPR will simplify the law and make it more effective. It will streamline data protection for companies and organisations by coordinating the laws in the 35 member states that use the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into a single, EU wide framework.

The Regulation establishes a common set of rules that will ensure adequate protection for personal data throughout the European Union. It covers processing of personal data in all sectors and is binding on both public and private sector organisations because it applies directly to them. Private companies can be held liable for any processing of their customers’ personal data if they fail to comply with certain obligations in this Regulation.

Data Protection Directive

The GDPR will also replace the 1995 Data Protection Directive. It will apply to all controllers and processors of personal data processing activities across the European Economic Area, both inside and outside the European Union. This includes companies operating in the EEA, as well as those based anywhere in the world that are processing personal data on behalf of a legal entity established in one of the EU member states.

It is an area where people can be equally protected, regardless of whether they are citizens or residents of another country within the EU. The new rules apply to individuals’ personal data while protecting fundamental rights that are enshrined under Article 7 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Under the new rules, citizens will have more control over their personal data. They can require organisations to give them access to their personal data, to rectify inaccurate data and to erase their personal data if they do not agree with the processing of their information. Individuals can also object to how their information is processed under certain circumstances.

New regime

The new regime includes comprehensive regulation on exercising everyone’s right of access, enabling individuals the right to view the content of data held on them and by whom. It also includes specific regulation on automated decisions, profiling and direct marketing including through mobile devices. The Regulation also prohibits transfers of personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) unless they ensure an adequate level of protection under the GDPR. The Regulation will come into force in summer 2016 when the European Commission will also publish guidance on its application in practice.

The GDPR replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and is part of the EU’s ongoing effort to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe. The new law provides for stronger obligations on companies that collect and process personal information, giving individuals stronger rights over their own information, and extending the scope of European legislation to all foreign companies processing information about EU residents, whether or not these organisations are based inside or outside of Europe.

How to register?

The GDPR is a regulation that replaces the Data Protection Directive. This regulation will enter into force on 25 May 2016 and will remain in force for twenty years, with a review scheduled to take place in ten years’ time. Any change made by the review is likely to be incorporated into a new Directive rather than a revised Regulation.

Click here to start your registration. Fill out the form and submit it online. You will receive an automatic confirmation of your registration by e-mail with instructions on how to proceed further.