The increasing impacts of social media in our lives had made it obvious for the authorities to pass tougher legislation containing its use. With Facebook’s breach of user data, it became evident that the law pending the clearance in the European Union would soon be passed. This legislature seems like a breather in the swamps of social media, the medium which is nothing about relationships, engagement, and interactivity and rather has become a tool for business with user data. Multiple instances of data breaches by smaller and bigger corporation have only added pressure.
So, it was near the time that we need something to carry ourselves with. The EU General Data Protection Regulation is in effect now and that’s the breather we required. So, how would the newly passed GDPR Impact on the social media? Will it be able to conceal our data? Or will it be the tool to protect the social media? Let’s find out.
What is GDPR?
The European Union passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) recently. It will come under effect from 25th May 2018 and will be applicable to all 28-member states of EU. The UK Government, in process of divorce from the EU, did prepare similar Draft Data Protection Bill close to the lines of GDPR. The EU is calling this privacy policy as “the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years”. The Data Protocol will be effective on all corporations including those registered in the U.S. as well and does business anywhere in the world. Thus, the GDPR impact on the social media will be huge.
What are the Major Features of GDPR?
The GDPR impact on social media will be a measure of how these rules are applicable to the organizations from outside the EU. Some of the features of GDPR are as follows:
- The most important of that is the requirement of ‘Privacy by design’ property which requires the organizations to properly plan for safety and management of personal data. It must maintain a proper clarity over the passage of data through various organizations.
- Article 35 of the GDPR requires that the organizations have clear path to protect any data like personal data for HR purposes, payment card data for online transactions, or medical records used by a doctor’s surgery.
- GDPR requires that one of six categories of “legal basis for the processing of personal data” are in place. Two of these are as follows:
- Consent of the data subject. By this, we mean customer, potential customer, influencer, effectively anyone not within the data processing organization.
- Necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject. An auditable agreement between the organization which explains the acceptable use of their personal data.
What is GDPR Impact on the Social Media?
To measure the GDPR impact on the social media, we must first understand the link between the GDPR and the social media. The marketers use the social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, WhatsApp, Snapchat or Instagram to effectively reach to their clients. Most people use either of these social media channels these days. Hence, the indirect supply of data from these social media channels benefit the marketers. But are these companies using our data with our consent? Most people do not tend to read the user agreement. And like it or not, you have indirectly consented to such use.
But with the implementation of GDPR, the companies will now be covered by the terms and conditions to forward privacy notices for use of the data. Due to existing legislation is known as EU-US Privacy Shield, US organizations (including social media application providers) can self-certify and commit to this framework agreement which underpins their protection of EU citizen data entrusted to them. The GDPR will require these establishments to have an accountable EU representative to have compliance for the GDPR approval.
What must you learn from this to minimize the data breach?
While you can relieve a bit due to the GDPR, here are some aspects which you must learn to protect yourself from any breach henceforth:
- The Blue Tick before the Applications or websites open – Read Privacy norms in clearer terms before you sign up anywhere.
- The T&Cs – These are important data and we tend to not adhere to them. Understand them before use.
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