The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes obligations on companies that collect and process EU citizens’ personal data. The regulation aims to give people more control over their personal data and provide strong protections for EU citizens. In this article, we’ll explore how to ensure your business’s website is GDPR compliant and up to personal data regulation.
As a business owner, it’s crucial to ensure your website complies with GDPR if you have visitors from the EU. Failing to comply can result in hefty fines of up to €20 million or 4% of your company’s annual global revenue. Here are some steps you can take to ensure your website is GDPR compliant:
Conduct a Data Audit
The first step is to conduct a thorough audit of all personal data you collect and process through your website. This includes data like names, email addresses, locations, IP addresses, browsing history, and any other information that can identify an individual.
Document what data you collect, where you store it, how you use it, who can access it, and how long you retain it. This allows you to map out your data flows and assets to better understand your data processing activities.
Update Your Privacy Policy To Ensure Business’s Website is GDPR Compliant
Your privacy policy needs to clearly explain what data you collect, how it’s processed and stored, the lawful basis for processing, and people’s data rights under the GDPR.
Specifically, your privacy policy should cover:
- What personal data you collect and process
- How and why you use the data
- How you share the data with third parties
- What lawful basis you have for processing the data
- How you store and protect the data
- Data retention periods
- Individuals’ right to access, correct, delete, or object to the processing of their personal data
Your privacy policy must use clear and plain language your audience can understand. The policy should be easily accessible from your website to make your business’s GDPR compliant.
Enable User Consent
If you collect any sensitive data or rely on consent as your lawful basis for processing, you need to clearly obtain users’ consent through opt-in checkboxes or other active consent mechanisms. Pre-checked boxes or implied consent don’t suffice under GDPR.
Also, consent requests must be separate from your terms and conditions page or privacy policy. The language must be clear and distinction, specifying the exact data being collected/processed and purposes. Users must be able to revoke consent easily.
Facilitate Data Rights Requests To Ensure the Business’s Website is GDPR Compliant
The GDPR grants individuals several rights regarding their personal data, like the right of access, rectification, erasure, and more. You need to have mechanisms in place to facilitate data rights requests from your users. Consider investing in a compliance automation solution to help you create GDPR policies in minutes.
Have forms and procedures established to handle these requests in a timely manner. You generally must respond within one month. Not facilitating data rights requests can result in fines under GDPR.
Implement Data Security
Your website and servers must use adequate security measures to protect collected personal data. This includes practices like encryption, pseudonymisation, firewalls, access controls, data backup, etc.
You must notify relevant supervisory authorities of any data breaches within 72 hours if they pose a risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms. Unauthorised access or disclosure of personal data can lead to fines under the GDPR.
Follow these key steps to analyse your website’s data collection practices against the requirements of the GDPR. Making the necessary updates helps ensure your business avoids substantial penalties and protects your EU users’ privacy rights. Staying compliant requires ongoing audits and reviews as your website evolves. Keep abreast of regulatory changes as the GDPR develops over time.
