In today’s world everyone has a digital identity, everyone’s personal data is online and the amount of data is growing every day, accelerated by innovation and new technologies.
In this context, why do organisations need to prioritise GDPR and online privacy on their agenda?
Companies have access to an increasing amount of data, regardless of the industry they work in, they are handling and holding personal data of different stakeholders (customers, partners, users, members, etc.).
Personal data and data in general are important drivers for companies’ growth. Thanks to business intelligence and data analytics, companies are able to develop better forecasts and optimise their market position in order to maximise their Return On Investment (ROI).
To reach a sustainable growth companies need to build a strong data management structure by making sure personal data are managed, used and protected properly.
Individuals are more and more sensitive to online privacy and want to understand for what purpose their data is been collected. Therefore people are demanding more information and transparency before sharing their personal information.
Individuals expect more transparency and control over their personal data.
Earning people’s trust has become even more important and challenging in the last few years and it won’t be easier in the near future.
For businesses, there is no alternative but to start taking data privacy and data protection seriously!
In response to the increasing privacy concerns, since 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulates the processing of personal data within the EU and applies to all businesses, including SMEs.
What happens if you fail to comply with EU data privacy laws? What risks can you encounter as an organisation?
1. Fines
The financial penalties imposed by the GDPR, under Article 83, are flexible and variable depending on the firm size and turnover. The GDPR has been designed to be applied to all types of businesses.
There are different levels of penalties depending on the type of violation:
- the lower level covers up to €10 million or 2% of the firm’s worldwide annual income for the previous year,
- the more serious covers up to €20 million or 4% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the previous financial year.
2. Brand image damage
Organisations that don’t act transparently put themselves at risk of developing an untrustworthy reputation. Users and customers may simply avoid working with you and opt to spend their time and money with your competitors, especially if they have to share personal information with your organisation. Building trust and customers loyalty is essential for the growth and the reputation of your brand. To preserve those values, it is critical that you fulfil your GDPR obligations and provide all the required information to the data subjects in a clear and transparent way.
Let’s start making your website GDPR compliant by creating clear and intelligible Privacy and Cookie notices, as well as a cookie consent banner with Admeet.
3. Suspension of data flows
In case of GDPR violation, data protection authorities have the power to impose temporary or definitive limitation including bans on processing, halting the collection or transfer of data on users and customers outside the EEA.
This represents the worst case scenario for companies. Even though these specific sanctions do not have a direct monetary impact, halting data processing can seriously impact companies’ operations.
What does this mean for you?
If you haven’t taken steps to become GDPR compliant you might be vulnerable right now.
Data protection authorities and consumers have made GDPR a priority and should you.
The potential cost of not being compliant is too high to be ignored. More importantly, it is less stressful and less expensive to make yourself GDPR compliant before an inevitable incident occurs.
GDPR needs to be, today and tomorrow, a key focus for companies regardless of their size, and industry. Making your business GDPR compliant allows you to:
- legally strengthen its projects and missions;
- increase the value of your data;
- avoid investigations and sanctions;
- have competitive advantages by standing out positively;
- boost your reputation;
- and gain customers and partners trust and loyalty.
GDPR compliance and putting privacy as a priority is a route to success.