It’s nearly the one-year mark for the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and we’re starting to see enforcement already. Most notably, of course, is the $57 million fine to Google for violations. Even companies who are very stringent about data privacy compliance aren’t off the hook from GDPR enforcement activities.
Data Protection Agencies
The Data Protection Agencies (DPAs) are the authorities entrusted with the task of investigating and enforcing the GDPR. Two investigative tools DPAs have at their disposal are audits and dawn raids. If your company is GDPR compliant you won’t be fined for violations but going through an audit or dawn raid is still a daunting prospect.
Audits
Audits allow DPAs to examine a business’ operations to ensure they have protections, processes, and policies in place that are consistent with the GDPR. Key components auditors pay close attention to include the presence of a Data Protection Officer, a register of processing activities, and compliant data processing agreements.
Dawn Raids
While audits can be cooperative, dawn raids are compulsory and allow the DBA access to the premises of any business processing personal data. These are unannounced and usually in response to suspected violations, complaints, or whistle-blowing. To avoid extra expenses and interruptions in the case of a privacy dawn raid, be sure to have a clear and well-communicated internal procedure for investigations in place at all levels of your business. This procedure should be available in the native language of each of your employees to ensure understanding and compliance.
GDPR + Your Company
If your business is holding any kind of EU consumer data, GDPR applies to you. You will need a language services partner that is well-versed in GDPR compliance. United Language Group (ULG) can help ensure your organization is prepared to meet the language component of GDPR compliance every step of the way.
To find out more about how United Language Group can support all aspects of your multilingual GDPR compliance program, contact us today.
