Privacy Law Change

As mentioned in an email sent to our clients during the week, there have been some updates to the law coming into effect in the European Union this month that may affect the way you do business.

You probably would have noticed the influx of emails you’ve recently received asking you to read their updated privacy policy.

The new law is a major upgrade to online privacy rights, but what is it and why are Australian consumers on the other side of the world getting emails about it?

Firstly what is the GDPR?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It’s a new privacy law that takes effect on May 25, to update and harmonise legislation across all of the 28 members of the European Union.

What are the penalties for breaching the new GDPR?

The maximum fine for a privacy breach is 20 million euros or 4 per cent of a company’s annual global turnover, whichever figure is greater with an added 10 million euros or 2 per cent of global turnover for a companies failure to protect data.

Have these penalties increased?

Yes significantly. It covers the protection measures put in place to protect your client’s privacy.  Also about how it was gathered, what was disclosed to your client about its use and how you’ve actually used them and also if it was lawful to do so.

How is it relevant to Australia?

Although we aren’t members of the European Union, if you deal with or are trying to obtain clients that are you may have responsibilities under the new laws.

Any business that operates online and allows customers to pay with euros or translates its website into a European language may be subject to the new laws as you are seen as marketing to EU customers.

If you require a privacy agreement on your website, simply click the below link as we have found that this company provide a decent range of agreements at reasonable prices.
Legal123.com.au

For more details – https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy-law/privacy-act/notifiable-data-breaches-scheme