Web design & development requires brainstorming on different aspects and consider multiple factors including layout design, website objective, SEO, budget and more. With the introduction of GDPR, now there is a new entry on the web developer?s list which they have to keep in mind when creating websites. But, what everyone is concerned about, whether this new law will affect the way developers design & build websites.
GDPR law requires that you become more thoughtful about the websites and services you build as well as more transparent about the methods of collection and use of personal data. That?s why, owners of varied digital platforms are required to become more diligent and stringent about how they collect, use and store personal information of their customers.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is designed to ensure data safety of European Union citizens, but it is also applicable for organizations that are outside of the EU which capture data from EU residents. So, eventually, every business is covered under this law. ?
Measures to cope with the General Data Protection Regulation
If any organization (whether operating inside or outside the European Union) infringes GDPR legislation, it is liable for a hefty fine of 20 million euros or 4% of company?s global annual turnover (whichever is higher). In order to avoid this huge loss, companies must comply with this law. Hence, the company?s websites should be built in a way that they fulfill all the requirements of this new data security regulation.
To make your business compliant with the new law, first, you need to understand it. According to this regulation, individuals are granted with 8 essentials rights as follows:
- Right to information: This right requires you to be transparent about how you use the information collected from customers or users. Usually, you provide this information in the privacy policy of your website, update this document to provide clear and concise information about your usage of the personal data.
- Right to access data: When a customer or user requests you to send their data, you should send it them in commonly used format like CSV.
- Right to correct or rectify data: In case of inaccurate data, you must let your clients or users rectify it.
- Erasure of data or Right to be forgotten: When there is no compelling reason to continue processing of the data, your clients or users may request to remove or delete it. ?
- Restrict data processing: As per this right individuals can request companies to stop processing their data. In that situation, companies can store the data but not allowed to process.
- Right to portability: Individuals should be allowed to access and reuse their personal information for their own purposes.
- Right to object: Individuals can object on their data usage including in fields like research, marketing, and statistics.
- Right pertaining to automatic decision making, including profiling: This defines the conditions in which you can use automated decision making and profiling. Plus, it also explains about the requirements to be met such as explicit consent of individuals.
These are the essential rules that should be followed by every business unit in order to abide by the GDPR law. While designing & building a website, developers need to pay attention to these regulations and then create the website that fulfills these rules.
The following steps should be taken to make sure that your website is GDPR compliant:
- Conduct a data audit: To make sure that you are safely handling the data from your customers or users, you should figure out a different aspect of this process.
- Define a clear and precise privacy policy: This document is where you describe the procedure on data collection, usage, storage and other processes. Define everything clearly pertaining to individuals? data handling. ?
- Implement SSL certification: Those websites that use HTTPS send data through an encrypted connection. So, if you have a SSL certificate, you have taken a step ahead to adhere to GDPR. In absence of HTTPS, your website sends encrypted data which may be intercepted in transit. ??
- Determine and document a clear process in case of a data breach: The new law requires that data controlled should establish a procedure to be followed in case of data breach. According to the regulation, data controller is obliged to report the data breach within 72 hours to authorities.
- Processing of data collected from children: Organizations which collect information from children need to take consent from their parents or guardians before processing their data legally. According to the law, children with a minimum age of 16 years can give their own consent for data processing. Mention information in your privacy policy precisely and in a way that 16 year child can understand.
Conclusion
In this digital era, data safety should be assured to the customers and users of your online services. It is an ethnic way that every business should consider while rendering their services. GPDR compliance requirement has made it essential for companies to ensure data safety. Now, it?s time to adhere to this legislation as failing to comply with this may have adverse effects on your business. ????
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Author Bio:
Tom Hardy has hands-on experience as a digital marketing consultant. He currently works at Sparx IT Solutions: GDPR Compliance Solution Provider and offers exceptional website auditing services to prepare a business for GDPR readiness. Also, he writes informative blogs to let users know how much it is important to comply with GDPR for websites to get better data security.
