Quarter of consumers would seek GDPR compensation pay-outs
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The possibility of getting a compensation pay out would tempt 26% of consumers to use new rights coming in under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), allowing individuals to request access to all the personal information any organization is holding about them, new research suggests.
The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force on 25 May 2018 will mean that organisations that monitor, store or analyse data will face more onerous obligations.
The new law gives people more say over what companies can do with their data. It also makes data protection rules more or less identical throughout the EU. People will have the right to access any information a company holds on them, and the right to know why that data is being processed, how long it's stored for, and who gets to see it.
Retailers and other businesses that collect and process consumers' personal information will need to have adequate systems and processes in place to quickly locate individuals' data and be ready to handle the extra administration involved.
According to a survey of almost 300 retail websites by international law firm Bryan Cave, 100% are currently non-compliant and have until 25 May 2018 to resolve this or face penalties and fines, which can be up to €20,000,000, or 4% of [the] organisation's global turnover, whichever is higher.
Bryan Cave's specialist Website Review Team tested 284 UK retail sites between 26 September 2017 and 26 October 2017 and assessed the GDPR compliance of the cookie banners; online legal notices (including privacy policy, cookie policy, terms and conditions, etc.); shipping, order cancellation and returns provisions; and consent mechanisms at the point of registering to use the website, check out and newsletter subscription. All of the websites surveyed were found to be inadequate in one or all of these aspects.
Nicola Conway, Associate in Bryan Cave's Technology, Entrepreneurial and Commercial Team and Coordinator of Bryan Cave's Website Review Service, commented: "Our GDPR Website Review Service has revealed a consistent lack of compliance across the customer-facing elements of UK e-commerce sites. Businesses are expected to make a multitude of internal organisational changes to ensure GDPR compliance ahead of May 2018 including, but not limited to, updating their websites. Our findings are undoubtedly indicative of deeper non-compliance throughout businesses generally, and that needs to change."
According to a survey carried out by UNICOM Global's Macro 4 division, over half of consumers would make a request to a business if they suspected their personal information was being held without their consent; 39 per cent would consider doing it just because they are curious to see what data companies are holding about them; and 26 per cent would make a request if there was a chance of compensation - which is possible if the rules were not being followed or their privacy was being breached, for example. 17 per cent would make a request in order to ‘get back' at companies who had given them a negative experience.