How Google, Amazon, Facebook, and More are Addressing GDPR

Brands worldwide are counting down the days to May 25, 2018. This is the date that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a far-reaching law that strengthens data privacy protection, goes into effect.

On this day, companies located in the European Union, even those that are outside of the EU but still offer goods and services or collect data on people located in the EU, need to comply with the GDPR or face hefty fines and lose customers.

Complying with these regulations will be crucial, which is why international tech giants — Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and Amazon — are working toward better protecting consumer data. Whether you choose to use a tool that applies GDPR standards to your data or reorganize your approach to data internally, consider the steps these brands are taking when it comes to your own GDPR preparation strategy.

Facebook — The social media giant will continue to provide control over how data is used, simplifying its privacy settings in a new control center and sending regular privacy reminders that will pop up in a person's news feed. Its website notes its efforts "may involve making available new tools to users and reviewing existing tools to make sure we honor our obligations." More details are here.

Google — As a data processing giant, Google has taken significant steps to comply with the new GDPR laws, such as increasing the control a business can have over its data, and making it easier for clients to choose products based on how that product will use their data. In this case, transparency is the name of the game and ensuring consumers understand what is happening to their data is a new priority.

Twitter — Under the GDPR’s “right to be forgotten” provision, Twitter and other companies are denied from owning users' online communications and must permanently erase them upon request. Brands can save time by employing solutions such as DataSwitch’s automated "forget me" requests.

LinkedIn — In addition to updating its agreement policies, LinkedIn will make changes to how recruiters and sales teams can export a person's information (LinkedIn members will be able to fine-tune these features on their privacy settings). They are also working on a process to easily delete personal data upon request.

Amazon — Will Amazon still be able to use your purchasing history to make suggestions? Yes. Like other online retailers, Amazon will have to follow the “privacy by design” standards, which means they will have to offer customers the option to turn off data tracking features now used to “suggest” products.

Tools like DataSwitch can help brands take steps like the “Big 5’s” to achieve GDPR Compliance before May 25 by:

• Tracking which channels, devices, and audience segments are driving the most (and least) consent responses to better understand what’s working and what’s not
• Handling consumer data on an operational level including high-level and granular consent responses, storage, access, and “forget me” requests as outlined in GDPR
• Creating custom branded GDPR pop-ups for obtaining data collection consent