The General Data Protection Regulations come into power on May 25. This legislation aims to protect the personal data of all European Union citizens — no matter where they live. GDPR has a direct effect in all EU member states. Businesses, organizations and enterprises that employ and/or deal with EU citizens will have to comply with the guidelines of GDPR.
What is the GDPR Code of Conduct?
There is an agreed way in which GDPR must be certified and conducted. Businesses and companies must comply or face huge penalties. Business sizes and needs are considered. They must have a clearly defined code of conduct that covers how data is collected, processed, used and stored.
Codes should be prepared in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including trade associations, supervisors, and employees. All stakeholders must approve of the code that is created.
They should address such things as:
- Collection of personal data
- Fair processing of data
- Transparency of data collection, storage and use
- Pseudonymisation of personal data
- Individual rights of those whose data is collected, used, stored and processed
What are the Benefits of having a GDPR Code of Conduct?
When businesses have created, modified and follow a code of conduct, their compliance is noted and looked upon by Compliance Officers who check to ensure GDPR is followed.
Having a clearly outlined code of conduct can prove your business is accountable for and transparent in the way it follows GDPR.
This ensures for their employees and/or clients that their personal data file is secure and being used properly. It also guarantees that the company will not be prosecuted for noncompliance—thus avoiding bad publicity, costly court costs, financial ruin and lack of public trust.
Having a code of conduct ensures that the company is employing best practices.
When your business has dealing with other companies, you might first want to check to make sure that enterprise has a signed code of conduct that ensures they are in compliance with GDPR.