The GDPR is a bill that was passed throughout the European Union which forced companies to comply with measures to protect the data of millions of users on the Internet. The bill was passed to combat companies overstepping their bounds, as seen primarily in the US. Giants such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook have all been accused of storing sensitive user data for purposes which would be considered unethical. To combat this, the bill was passed and imposes huge penalties for companies that violate its rules. The GDPR has a number of requirements which any company operating within the European Union must follow, to avoid large penalties.
What Does the GDPR Protect?
It sets out requirements to protect basic identity information, web data, biometric data, racial or ethnic data, political opinions, and sexual orientation.
What Types of Companies Does the GDPR Affect?
The GDPR affects companies which consist of more than 250 employees, has a presence in any EU country, or it has fewer than 250 employees but its data processing impacts the rights of the users.
What Fines Has It Dealt Out?
The GDPR has dealt out huge fines to major giants in different industries. These penalties are not small fines which the companies pay and ignore, they are penalties that can hurt the company’s profits significantly.
For example, Amazon was dealt an $877 million fine for forcing its users to agree to cookies.
WhatsApp, the social media and messaging giant, was fined $255 million for failing to explain its data processing practices in its privacy notice.
It is easy to see that the GDPR means business and is not another useless bill passed which does not stop corporations from doing what they like. It has exercised its power in the past to dole out huge fines which significantly impact the profits of a given company.
