Comprehensive General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Training

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law focused on data protection and privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The primary goal of GDPR is to give individuals control over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying data protection regulations within the EU.

Key Requirements of GDPR

GDPR requirements apply to all member states of the European Union, aiming to create consistent protection of consumer and personal data across the EU. Key privacy and data protection requirements include:

• Consent: Requiring the consent of subjects for data processing.
• Anonymization: Anonymizing collected data to protect privacy.
• Breach Notifications: Providing data breach notifications.
• Data Transfers: Safely handling the transfer of data across borders.
• Data Protection Officer: Requiring certain companies to appoint a data protection officer to oversee GDPR compliance.

Purpose of GDPR

The GDPR aims to impose a uniform data security law on all EU members, eliminating the need for each member state to create its own data protection laws and ensuring consistency across the EU. Additionally, any company that markets goods or services to EU residents, regardless of location, must comply with the regulation. Consequently, GDPR has a global impact on data protection requirements.

GDPR Enforcement and Penalties for Non-compliance

Supervisory Authorities (SAs) have investigative and corrective powers under GDPR, including:

• Issuing warnings for non-compliance.
• Performing audits to ensure compliance.
• Requiring companies to make specified improvements by prescribed deadlines.
• Ordering data to be erased.
• Blocking companies from transferring data to other countries.

Data controllers and processors are subject to SAs’ powers and penalties. The GDPR allows SAs to issue larger fines than the previous Data Protection Directive, with fines determined based on the circumstances of each case. Companies that fail to comply with certain GDPR requirements may face fines of up to 2% or 4% of total global annual turnover or €10 million or €20 million, whichever is greater.

Importance of GDPR in India

Europe is a significant market for the IT, BPO, and pharmaceutical industries in India. The IT industry in the top two EU member states (Germany and France) is estimated to be worth around $155–220 billion USD. For the Indian IT industry to continue doing business in Europe, it must comply with GDPR.

India is undergoing a massive digital transformation through initiatives like Aadhaar, Digital India, IndiaStack, and DigiLocker. India could benefit from developing an overarching data protection regime inspired by GDPR. However, data protection should not be limited to government initiatives alone. Indian businesses can also implement strong data protection measures similar to GDPR, which will support their growth in the long run.

Adopting GDPR standards will strengthen data protection measures for enterprises and empower both businesses and their customers. Businesses operating in other regions should also consider adopting GDPR standards as data protection becomes an increasingly critical concern globally.