Does your website comply with the new GDPR rules?

1. Does your website comply with the new GDPR rules? The chances are that you have been seeing a lot of mentions of the General Data Protection Regulation – or GDPR – in your email inbox and on news sites in recent weeks and months. It was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in April 2016 as a means of better protecting European citizens’ data – but is your online business prepared for it? It’ll need to be ready soon, given that the new rules come into effect for any business or blog on the web from 25th May 2018. The good news, though, is that it doesn’t necessarily need to be an onerous process to undertake the necessary updates to your own site. What are the basic principles and requirements of GDPR? Although there are various places online where you can read more in-depth about the GDPR rules, the important thing to remember is that it’s all about how we’re allowed to control, collect and use data, including what we can and can’t keep and share. The new rules aim to boost transparency, for example, by requiring businesses like yours to make clear why they are collecting users’ personal information, and what they intend to do with it. Consent is also a big principle of GDPR. You can no longer just offer a standard opt-in, but instead need to provide a checkbox that the user checks to affirm they are giving you consent to collect their information. So, what practical steps can you take to ensure compliance? The measures that you adopt to make sure you are on the right side of the

2. GDPR rules should start with the auditing of your company’s existing personal data records. You need to find out what information you have already collected through your website’s forms, as this information will now be required to comply with the new regulations. You are also urged to take another look at your site’s privacy policy to consider whether it needs to be refreshed in light of the rule changes, as well as add a consent checkbox to all of your site’s forms. Furthermore, some of the email contact lists that your site is using may no longer be usable after 24 May due to non-compliance with the regulations. You may therefore need to send out a new subscribe email, asking for contacts’ permission again. The new rules begin from midnight as 24 May becomes 25 May, so you have little time to waste to ensure your own online business’s readiness! Don’t forget, too, that we can provide the highest standards of Digital Marketing Online here at PENNInk Productions to get your website spick and span for 2018 and beyond; just call our team now on 020 8144 7931. PENNInk Productions Ltd. Registered office: 27A Maxwell Road Northwood Middlesex HA6 2XY Tel. 020 8144 7931