The EU formulated the GDPR privacy law in May 2018, serving as a privacy policy for protecting consumers’ personal data and privacy for all EU citizens.
The formulation of the GDPR started all from the public concerns of EU citizens. It significantly impacted marketers doing business in the EU and EU citizens themselves. It is a set of privacy laws regarding personal data that all businesses doing business within EU regions have to respect.
The GDPR is considered the best privacy law set in the past two decades. Failing to follow its regulations will not only leave you at risk. It will also make you pay significant fines and penalties that will directly hurt your business’s overall image.
Privacy regulations by the GDPR are nearly four years old, so what can marketers expect from it in 2022?
Let’s find out!
What to expect in 2022?
From our experiences year by year, data privacy policies are becoming harsher every year. This includes the rise of GDPR penalties that have been more common with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Now, the adaptation to privacy laws and the protection of private data has increased.
You would be surprised that only in 2021, the total sum of GDPR fines hit over one billion dollars! A rate much more significant compared to previous years.
So, what can we say about 2022? The way we adapt to these privacy laws needs to increase. We also need to get serious about following these laws or else there will be hefty fines and penalties to face! After all, the success of your business is important.
The new AI regulation
One of the newest regulations with the GDPR includes the new AI regulation that will be coming in 2022. The EU proposed the AI (Artificial Intelligence Act) in early 2021. The AI act will follow a different set of rules that will include four levels of risks associated with AI:
- High-risk AI: AI systems/devices that are possessing a threat to people’s safety and rights
- Unacceptable AI risk: AI that possesses harmful activities and contradicts EU laws
- Low risk AI: AI systems or devices can be used within EU regions without possessing any harmful activities
- Limited AI risk: AI systems or devices will be limited to certain activities.
The EU is bringing the new regulation regarding AI since it requires a large amount of data usage that organizations need to use. It is vital that this data doesn’t go against privacy laws and protects the personal data and privacy of users.
The GDPR is strengthening its worldwide influence
The GDPR isn’t only followed by all EU citizens, but it also includes businesses and organizations that conduct activities within EU territory. If you live in the USA and have a business that is operating in an EU country, this privacy act also applies to you as well. In 2021 alone, GDPR compliance had an increase of 7%.
According to research done, 66% of Americans claimed that they wish the US would adopt privacy laws just like the GDPR does with EU citizens. In addition to that, eight in ten US companies who operate within the EU took the necessary steps to follow GDPR’s privacy regulations.
With the increase of many companies operating within EU regulations, many organizations are now expected to comply with GDPR terms in the upcoming years. Harsher penalties are being imposed year after year and companies and organizations now consider it mandatory to follow these regulations.
The ePrivacy regulation
A new EU regulation proposal that arose regarding electronic privacy is on its way to being approved. Regulations within the ePrivacy include:
- A set of rules for electronic communication and protecting personal data regarding the privacy of users, their communication in between each other, and the devices they are using.
- Protecting confidentiality requirements that include VoIP platforms, instant messaging (IM) apps, and machine-to-machine communication.
As 2021 comes to an end, the ePrivacy regulation hasn’t been acted upon much. However, as many amendments continue to be implemented, that will change in 2022. However, some experts claim that things may get more complex rather than more simple with this regulation coming into play!
GDPR penalties are predicted to increase
Only in 2021, Amazon alone hit a record GDPR fine of $865 million due to a privacy data violation breach that was made. The violation was made by how the user’s personal data was processed. This was the biggest fine ever given by the GDPR and was first filed by a French privacy rights group called “La Quadrature du Net” back in 2018. At the same time, the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) imposed this fine only a few months ago. The fine was examined under Article 83 and took some time to process.
Even with over $1 billion of fines being given out by the GDPR in 2021 alone, they are increasing year by year because many companies and organizations fail to follow privacy regulations.
In short, there will be more privacy acts to follow in 2022. This means that many businesses will most likely not follow these regulations. Some may do it without being adequately informed.
Amazon witnessed that this year, but let’s see what happens in 2022!
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) deadlines
The most vital GDPR developments all revolve around SCCs and data transfers. Contractual clauses are vital since they can be used for data protection concerning data transfers made from the EU to third world countries. As of now, SCCs are pre-approved by the EU commission and seek to come into play by the end of 2022.
The EU Commission has set a deadline – December 27th, 2022, for all companies that conduct data transfer and are using old contracts to transition to the new contracts that will be released in 2022. This, of course, counts for all companies and organizations that still haven’t transitioned to the new contracts. At the moment, there are many companies that have already done so.
Increased accountability for marketers
The rise of GDPR penalties year by year also accounts for increased accountability for marketers. The best way to avoid any misunderstandings with GDPR compliance is to hire a data protection officer who does continuous monitoring.
A data protection officer performs risk analysis associated with data protection, gives advice regarding data protection, and even cooperates with the data protection authorities. If you operate outside of EU borders, it is necessary to have a representative in the country you are operating.
Contracts with your vendors
With increased accountability, you also have to consider your contracts with third-party vendors. Suppose you have any contract with third-party vendors who manage your information on cloud servers, email services, or even analytics software. In that case, you must ensure your contract complies with the GDPR. In short, their websites must possess data processing agreements.
What are the customer privacy rights we should know of?
As the new year is here and accountability is increasing for marketers regarding data privacy. 2022 will be a year in which you will have to learn more about data privacy.
How well do we know the privacy rights that the GDPR has set? To comply, you must request most of them and verify the identity of the person who is making the request. Furthermore, here are the rules you should know about data privacy laws:
- The right to access: people have the right to know how long their personal data will be used. You must inform them about it.
- The right to be well-informed: people have to be well-informed of how their personal data is being used and what kind of data you have about them.
- The right to ask for data removal: all users have the right to ask you to remove their data and even object if they see their data is being misused.
- Data portability: you must send people’s data to them and make it easy for them to understand.
- Rights regarding automated decision making: in case your organization operates with automated decision making, you need to set up procedures that state data privacy protection, protection of consumers’ legitimate interests, and freedom.
Wrapping it up
Well, that’s about it for this article. Hopefully, you now understand what you can expect in 2022 regarding GDPR compliance. Privacy law penalties have increased dramatically over the years, and the requirements to follow them have become stricter. Many marketers may know about privacy policies. However, they may not know about the updated regulations that occur every year.
With the increase of AI systems, the need to inform consumers how their personal data will be used will increase even more in 2022. For that reason, we must keep reading and stay updated on amendments that are made with the GDPR. After all, the fines and penalties that must be faced aren’t small!
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