A GDPR compliance checklist can only be useful if you understand why your business should be compliant.
So, let's discuss why GDPR compliance is essential for businesses in the EU and beyond:
Avoiding fines and legal consequences : Complying with data protection regulations helps avoid sanctions and lawsuits that can damage your business's reputation and operations.
Expanding market reach : If you own a business outside the EU, GDPR compliance can help you enter overseas chinese in canada data the European market and expand your customer base.
Improve data governance : GDPR compliance will help you develop structured data governance frameworks for your business. This will help you better understand and manage your customers’ data.
Reduce data storage costs : Storing large amounts of personal data can be expensive. However, focusing on only essential user data can significantly reduce storage costs .
Building customer trust : Being transparent about how you use your customers' data makes them more likely to trust your business. It helps you build stronger customer relationships and encourage brand loyalty .
What is protected under the Personal Data Protection Act?
Under GDPR guidelines, companies must cast a wide net when deciding what to do with personally identifiable information. Data that you might not consider sensitive may still be protected under GDPR. This is where tools like access control lists come into play, allowing organizations to effectively manage and secure data.
Some of the most common data types include the following:
names
Addresses
Social Security Numbers
Credit card numbers
Bank account information
IP address
sexual orientation
Race or ethnicity
Political stance
Under GDPR legislation, companies must take “reasonable” measures to secure this information from outside intrusion.
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What happens if my company is not GDPR compliant?
The EU can impose fines on companies that fail to comply. Given that the legislation is currently quite broad, it is important to be conservative in the use and storage of data.
The most serious violations can lead to extraordinary penalties. In fact, Meta Platforms, Inc. in Ireland received a hefty €1.2 billion fine in 2023 for non-compliance with the GDPR.
The image below shows several other organizations that also received significant sanctions:
GDPR fines organization
Image via Statista
How can Hello Bar make GDPR compliance easier for you?
One of the most important aspects of GDPR compliance is related to how you collect data. If you want to build your email list using lead magnets , for example, you need to ensure you are only reaching out to customers who actually want to hear from you.
We've created a helpful guide on how to enable GDPR through your Hello Bar account .
Hello, Bar allows you to include any necessary information before collecting email addresses, names, and other data. For example, if you plan to use the information provided for both marketing strategies and data sharing, you need a separate login for each consumer.
You can do this using Hello Bar. For example, make it clear that you intend to use the collected information only for email marketing purposes and will not share it with any third party.