The GDPR is at the forefront of a lot of people's minds, as it should be. The regulation deadline will be here in May 2018, which feels far away though it really isn't considering how much work there is to be done to prepare for it.

Here at DATABASICS, we're gathering paperwork, attending information sessions, and spreading the work at about the GDPR. It's a new regulation that tells companies how to responsibly manage the personal information of any citizen in the European Union, with Britain included.
The regulations are broad on purpose so that more companies are careful about the information they manage and transfer. Even though we're a company based in the United States, we're working on becoming compliant, not only because the fees for non-compliance can be really hefty (think millions of Euros), but because it's the right thing to do.

With more news emerging about the data being not only gathered and sold without our permission, but also mis-managed to the point of being hacked, it's more important than ever than to be responsible stewards of the information that we work with. Even something as seemingly as an email address falls under this new regulation, much less something as personal as a social security number or other identifying information.

If your company manages data for EU citizens, hopefully you're already underway on becoming compliant. If you aren't a direct manager of EU citizen data or you don't manage global data, it's time to get used to this new normal. We can probably expect to see more regulations of how companies collect, sell, and store the data of every living person as citizens and people in positions of government become more outraged about news of data mis-management.

Access all you need to know about the GDPR on our recent blog: If You Work With EU Data, You Need To Read This: A GDPR Cheatsheet.