You have probably noticed that nowadays many companies are updating their Privacy Policies and Terms of Service. Specially those that gather personal information because they are performing commerce transactions. This is specially true for #Magento eCommerce websites. Dozens of email notifications have been sent to you from your favorite companies, and have read tweets with the #GDPR hashtag on Twitter. But what exactly is GDPR, and what actions should you take in Los Angeles as a Magento eCommerce store owner, marketer, developer, or just someone who has a digital presence?
What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR is a new set of rules and regulations that gives EU citizens more control over their personal data, what information companies collect, and how that information is used. GDPR was approved by the European Parliament in 2016, and was taken into effect on May 25th, 2018.
What is considered Personal Information?
Before, in the EU, only person’s name, address, and photos were considered Personal Information. However, with this new reform, more types of information are considered as personal. There isn’t any definitive list of all types of data that is considered personal. This is how GDPR defines personal data:
“Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.”
This basically means that any information related to a particular person is considered personal. According to GDPR:
“An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.”
To summarize, the following types of information (not a full list) may be considered personal:
– Basic information such as Full Name, Date of birth
– Geographical Location such as street address, city, zip, country
– Digital “location” & Contact Information such as Email Address, Phone Number, Social Media Account IDs
– Subjective Information such as Religion, Political Views
– Information about Work & Education
Disclaimer: Neither this article nor Kento Systems, Inc. provide legal advice. We strongly advise you to consult a legal expert in order to get more comprehensive information about the topic.
For more information on this regulation , please visit EU GDPR SIte
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