About the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

We are pretty sure you already heard about the GDPR by now and must be considering how to prepare for it once it comes into effect.

In this article, we will share everything you need to know about it and also its impact on CostperEmail and its users. 

What and Who?

The General Data Protection Regulation is a privacy law enforced in the European Union to all businesses based in the EU. It will have a significant impact on the business organizations when it comes into effect on 25th May 2018.

The GDPR is a law that will be responsible for regulating the personal data of the citizens of the EU and will impact how organizations or businesses use or treat this personal data. This will also include the organizations/business located outside the European Union.

When we talk about personal data, we refer to any data that can be used to identify an individual either alone or with the help of additional data.

The compliance of the GDPR will have to take place if you erase, collect, transmit or change any of the personal data of the citizens of EU or store or use them according to your whims.

The GDPR will be the upgrade of the older directive 95/46/EC on data privacy that will also introduce several crucial changes that might affect the users of CostperEmail.

About the Consent

To process the personal data of a citizen of the European Union, you must possess a legal basis for it.

Under the policies stated in the GDPR, the users of CostperEmail must rely on consent even though they can use another legal basis to process the personal data. In this regard, the consent must be verifiable and explicit.

Verifiable consent consists of a written record that would reflect how and when someone authorized you to process or use their personal data. The CostperEmail Forms and Landing Pages are authorized to collect and store the IP address, the email address and the timestamp of all the people who submit the CostperEmail form. 

Explicit content needs each contact consent so that the opt-in is not able to use an opt-in box that is pre-checked. Also, an opt-in message that you utilize needs to state all the possible ways in which you can utilize the personal data of the contacts that you collect.

This means that for all of your Subscribers inside CostperEmail ensure the following is done:

Obtain permission / consent

You have to insert a checkbox in the subscription forms, which is evidently unchecked by default.

It is important to ask permission from your subscribers for sending them emails occasionally.

Add them to your email list only if they agree.

You can facilitate double opt-in for your email lists to be extra sure.

All these settings are available inside CostperEmail Platform.

Right to be Forgotten

CostperEmail makes it convenient for your subscribers to unsubscribe anytime by clicking on the UNSUBSCRIBE link in the footer of the email footers.

You need to use [UNSUBSCRIBE_URL] tag inside all of your email campaigns.

Right to Access/Rectify

Your subscribers can update their profile information anytime by following the link you include in the email footers.

You need to use [UPDATE_PROFILE_URL] tag inside all of your email campaigns.

Subscribers can also contact you to have their data modified/deleted, and you should act upon their request immediately. 

Privacy Protection

You need to ensure that you store your subscriber’s data safely.

GDPR is all about data protection!

Portability of Data 

You can move or export all of your subscriber’s information from your CostperEmail account.

Provide Breach Notification

You should inform all your subscribers immediately if there is a data breach on your site.

You can send mass email notification immediately from your CostperEmail account to your subscriber base.

About Individual Rights

The rights of people in regards to their personal data are also outlined in the GDPR.

According to the provisions of the GDPR, the citizens of the European Union will have the right to request for information or details on how to use their personal data.

They can likewise request you to use that data in specific ways.

You should also prepare yourself to entertain the requests that come to you for the correction, completion, and transfer to some business, etc. of some personal data.

The requests can also include the prohibition of data for certain uses or complete removal of the same.

In addition to all this, you must also entertain queries on how you are storing their personal data and exactly what you are going to use it for. You must also give them access to the personal data or share it if they ask for it.

Will the GDPR apply to my business

EU-based businesses, as well as anyone processing the personal data of EU citizens, will likely be affected by the GDPR.

If you ever collect, record, store, use, or erase personal data from customers or contacts in the EU, the GDPR should be on your radar.

What is CostperEmail doing to prepare?

We have modified many of our internal practices and policies because we are committed to compliance with the GDPR.

What can I do to prepare?

We recommend the build and use a signup form from CostperEmail in regards to marketing so that you can grow your list.

This is because we always have copies of the permission data in the event where you might need it sometime in the future.

You can also turn on the double opt-in if you require added permission evidence.

However, regardless of the method of opt-in you select, the export files contain all the permission data.

Please also note that we do not aim to give any legal advice on this blog post. On the contrary, we only wish to offer information and some resource that can act as a guide for you to refer to when the GDPR comes into effect. If you wish to learn more about how your organization might change due to the GDPR, you must consult a legal practitioner in your area.

We have been in the process of researching and investigating everything about the GDPR. In this respect, we have also modified many internal policies and practices in 2017. This precisely because we are 100% committed to complying with the GDPR. We have also assessed the impact that GDPR will have on the tools of CostperEmail to gauge if there is a way to make these tools efficient and more practical for the usage of the CostperEmail users by the advent of the GDPR.

UPDATED: 24-May-2018.