One of the biggest factors to change is the arrival of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), coming into force 25th May 2018. The GDPR aims to make it easier for individuals to understand how their data is handled and what it’s used for.
For businesses, this means a stricter code of conduct in terms of data protection. The new EU regulation overrides national law, meaning the GDPR will supersede the current UK Data Protection Act (DPA) that has been in place since 1998.
One of the biggest changes the GDPR will introduce is the monetary fines for data non-compliance. Organisations that fail to conform to regulations will face penalties of up to €million or 4% of their annual global turnover (whichever is greater), far surpassing the current maximum fines of £500,000. Further the GDPR’s reach is wider than the DPA; the collection and use of consumer and personal data and business-to-business data will require consent.
It is important, then that SMEs residing in Britain can fully identify with the current and future security of their data to ensure they don’t get caught, in the increasingly wide net of data regulation. Given the associated fines, it very much pays to be education on the details.
With only a year to ensure your business is fully compliant, do you have enough time?
Contact AMSHIRE SOLUTIONS today to find out if your company is GDPR ready.
