The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is structured to give people more control of their own personal data. It is anticipated that these unified regulations will enable businesses and other organizations to leverage the opportunities of the digital market.
As the compliance deadline for this new European Union law approaches, different institutions are beginning to recognize the usefulness of the new law and its extended scope of applicability. The Fundraising Regulator is an organization that sought to update its Code of Fundraising Practice to match the new E.U. data protection regulation.
The regulator has begun a consultation on the changes it intends to make to the code to ensure that all guidance and language is consistent with the GDPR. Currently, the organization collects opinions from the public, charities and fundraisers on an updated version of the Code of Fundraising Practice. The proposed changes address several issues identified in the penalty notices by ICO. They also increase accessibility to regulations on data protection through improvements in signposting to existing ICO and Fundraising Regulator guidance. The proposals add and expand the definition of key terms.
New Sections of the Regulator’s Code
The Code of Fundraising Practice has had three new sections that conform to the EU data protection regulation. These sections strive to provide more clarification on legitimate interest. They include consent, legitimate interest, and processing. Under the consent section, the changes intend to incorporate draft ICO GDPR guidance from the date when GDPR comes into force. Under the processing section, the regulator seeks to emphasize that ‘processing’ will imply any activity that deals with individual’s personal data. In this case the protection regulations will apply.
For the Legitimate Interest section, GDPR and National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO) working group recommendations will be incorporated into the code. The regulator believes that protection of personal data is an essential component of meeting the vital principles of legal, open, honest, and respectful fundraising within the Code of Fundraising Practice.