Companies that trade in goods and services in the European Union need to be in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is the toughest data security and privacy law in the world.

GDPR is the foundation of Europe’s digital privacy legislation formed on April 14, 2016, and became enforceable on May 25, 2018.
The regulation was passed by the European Union and it imposes restrictions on organisations anywhere that collect data or target people in the countries of the European Union.
As such, it poses implications for individuals across Europe and beyond.

Essentially, GDPR is a set of laws and regulations that provides EU citizens more control over their private online data and aims to simplify the regulatory environment so that both businesses and citizens in the EU can benefit from the internet-connected age.

At a time when most people trust their private and confidential data to cloud services and more and more cyberattacks and data breaches are occurring, the GDPR takes a firm stance when it comes to data security.

However, the regulation is quite large, far-reaching, complex and is subject to interpretation, which means complying with it may be an intimidating prospect, especially for small and medium businesses.

The Problem with GDPR and Brexit

When the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in 2016, there may have been many businesses in the UK that believed that they could dispense with the GDPR from thereon after.

However, this turned out to be one of the biggest misconceptions related to Brexit.
Even though the UK has voted to leave the EU, many of its companies will still be restrained by the GDPR, if they trade with European Union member states and/or possess information on EU citizens.

Hence, regardless of whether the UK is a member of the European Union or not, if your company performs any of the above action, you will need to abide by the GDPR.
In addition, countries like the United States, Australia, China, and India will similarly be affected.

The most common issue faced by UK-based organisations is that they already possess data of people living in the remaining 27 EU member states (including the UK citizens who are living in EU countries).

If your organisation is not familiar with the intricacies of the GDPR and use the collected data in a manner that is prohibited by the regulation, it can lead to severe legal actions for you and your business, including, a hefty fine ranging anywhere from €250,000 to €20,000,000 or 4% of your global turnover, depending on the severity of the violation.

Regulation, Gdpr, Data, Protection, Security, General
Photo: Pixabay

How Can a UK-Based Organisation Use Gallery Teachers As Its GDPR Representative in the EU

If the people responsible for data collection in your business do not fully understand the guidelines set by GDPR and use the data in an unlawful way, you can see that the penalties set by the GDPR can be a death knell for a company, especially SMEs.

At Gallery Teachers, we can provide you with representative services to comply with GDPR regulation in the EU.

Gallery Teachers’ GDPR Representative program allows companies based outside of the EU to appoint GDPR representatives in the EU on data privacy matters.
As your representatives, we will be your proxy point of contact for data protection regulatory authorities in the European Economic Area and the UK, depending on the location of your organisation.

How we can help you:

  • Understand data processing activities and approach, which will ensure GDPR compliance.
  • Act as a single point of contact for data regulatory authorities in the EEA.
  • Maintain your record of processing activities (ROPA) in compliance with EU/UK GDPR.

At Gallery Teachers, we can help you get the necessary GDPR training to help your organisation identify the extent of the applicability of the GDPR, and provide support to understand the intricacies of the regulations and your duties as a data manager.

You can enrol directly on our GDPR Representative program by clicking here.

For more info, complete the form below and one of our consultants will contact you.

Please complete this enquiry form and we will aim to respond to you within three working days. All the fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

  • Gallery Teachers will use the information that you provide only in relation to your request. We will process your personal information based on our legitimate purposes.

    Gallery Teachers complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards. You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold on you, and the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies in that information. If you have concerns about how we have used your personal information, you also have the right to complain to a privacy regulator.

    For detailed information, please refer to the privacy section of our website or contact your local Gallery Teachers office. We will keep your information for a period of 6 months from the time of collection.