The EU data compliance

Considering that it has taken about 4 years of debate and preparation, it wasn't until April 14, 2016 that the GDPR(General Data Protection Regulation) of the European Union was finally approved by the EU parliament.

The directive is scheduled to take effect as of May 25,2018 and has as it scope the protection of EU citizens data as collected by companies both within the EU and outside. The EU has given all concerned in the collection of data of EU citizens, to comply with its new directive.

This directive moves a step farther away from the former directive of 1995. Many changes have been made and these changes reflect the extent to which data privacy and protection has evolved. The changes are a reflection of the changing times in which we live.

In today's digitally-driven world,the need for most people to be on social media and the internet in general is common place. But accessing web portals and social media outlets requires the use of personal and sometimes professional data as key to using such web services.

How data is handled, where it is stored and what use is being made of it, are some of the questions that have given rise to directives like the EU data protection law. Responsibility for safe keeping of personal data requires companies and businesses to comply with the directive so as not to face impending fines.

This means beneficiary of the new directive is the EU citizens themselves who it seems are given ultimate saying power over their personal data. Can this be beneficial to businesses and companies?