Online businesses need a constant flow of data to improve the user experience on the website, retarget website visitors and customers, or generate personalized ads. However, under the new GDPR website, users must give clear consent before data can be collected. It is now necessary to inform the user how data is collected and handled. Therefore, the privacy policy must be accessible and easy for the user to understand. Website users should have an idea of what kind of data will be collected and for what purpose, before agreeing to the terms of service, as non-compliance with the GDPR can result in heavy fines and even lawsuits.
There are many different aspects of the law that website hosting providers across Europe need to take into account, which can be quite complicated. But not everyone norway phone number library can afford to have a GDPR specialist in-house. Therefore, the following tips will give you a first impression of how your company and website can best comply with European data protection law on an ongoing basis. This guide will not contain legal advice, but it does attempt to establish a basic understanding of the GDPR requirements.
1. Know the terminology
Before you try to make your website GDPR compliant, you should have a basic understanding of the terminology.
Personal data
Personal data describes information that can identify an individual, either directly or through a combination of the data collected. Data that can identify an individual may include, but is not limited to, email address, IP address (which can predict a user's exact location), name, income, religion, or personal photographs. In addition, general website behavior is personal information, as cookies can track browsing activities across multiple websites (for example, what content users scroll through or click on).
Privacy Policy
The privacy policy describes what type of data you collect from your users and how that data is handled. Additionally, the privacy policy should contain a description of how personal data will be kept private or who will have access to the data. The privacy policy should be easily understandable and accessible to website users.
Data Processor and Controller
The data controller is the person or software that determines the purpose of the data and how it will be further processed. The data processor, on the other hand, is the natural person or software that processes and analyses the data on behalf of the data controller.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
What does it really mean to be GDPR compliant? Complying with the current GDPR can mean different things, depending on the company, the organization, its users, and the quality of the data. However, to be GDPR compliant in general, the company or individual collecting personal data must implement specific measures to ensure that it will be handled, processed, and stored securely by default.
GDPR compliance
2. Modify our website according to current data protection regulations
When the law came into force in 2016, most website operators had the same question: How can I make my website GDPR compliant? The following steps will make your website more compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Have an opt-in and opt-out form on your website.
Provide a form on your website, which is clearly visible to the user and informs them about the data collection and processing activities on the website. Most websites use cookie pop-ups, which include a user content form. It should also be easy for the individual to withdraw their permission to collect personal data. This is also commonly referred to as the “opt-out” option.
List all third-party tracking software
Many websites use third-party programs to analyze the collected data more efficiently. Have a section in your privacy policy or cookie pop-up banner that lists and describes the third-party tracking software used on the website. Additionally, the website should clearly state for which part consent is granted or if there are any exceptions.
Make it easy for your user to withdraw permission granted, especially in email marketing.
Withdrawing permission for granted data processing rights can be difficult to implement on the website, without disrupting the user experience on the website. However, under the GDPR, it should be as easy to remove as it was previously granted. One one-way way companies addressed this challenge is to list specific areas for which the data will potentially be used, which the user can either accept or reject (e.g. personalized ads, behavioral tracking, personalized user experience on the website). This is mostly done through Cookies. Also, it should be easy for your newsletter subscribers to unsubscribe at any time from your mailing list. If it is not clearly marked in your email or there is no option to unsubscribe, it can result in heavy fines.
3. Use of Google Analytics in accordance with the GDPR
Google Analytics is by far the most widely used and most popular website tracking tool, giving its users unique insight into the behavior of their website visitors. But is Google Analytics GDPR compliant?
There are a few simple steps you can take to make using Google Analytics on your website compliant. Google Analytics records each user with a unique user ID, in order to display the total number of visitors on the website (e.g. new or returning customers), behavior (e.g. through which websites the customer converts; bounce rate) and interaction on the website. Additionally, Analytics can segment users by age, gender and sometimes even income. All of the above information is considered personal data under the GDPR, which can potentially identify an individual. However, it is difficult to establish the full extent of data collected through Google Analytics, as Google is constantly developing and improving the tool.
Google Analytics according to its EU consent policy, which website owners have the responsibility to disclose, that Google Analytics is used on the website. In addition, they must obtain consent from the website end users in the European Union and specify the exact reason for collecting the personal data. In this way, Google Analytics shifts the responsibility of the data protection obligation to the website owner. The following tips will help you monitor GDPR compliance while using Google Analytics.
Enable IP anonymization
The IP address counts as personal data under the GDPR. Google uses the IP address of users to generate a geographic report. Therefore, anonymization will reduce the accuracy of tracking your users via Google Analytics. You can archive an anonymization of the IP address by adding the following variable to the Google Analytics tracking code script:
{'anonymize_ip': true}
Once the function is added to the Google Analytics tracking code, the IP address will be anonymized at the point of collection.
2. Check Google Analytics Pseudofiction Settings
Google Analytics has already implemented measures to prevent the identification of a single user. However, you should check whether the following pseudonym settings are active and working.
User Identity: Ensure that users are identified by numbers or letters and not by specific email addresses or plain text usernames.
Transaction ID : Combining the transaction ID with other data sources in the account can potentially identify an individual. Therefore, make sure the ID is a random alphanumeric identifier.
Encrypted data: Encrypted data may include personal email addresses or phone numbers. As such, it is recommended that you avoid collecting encrypted data through Google Analytics. Google Analytics has a minimum hash requirement of SHA256 and recommends using a salt with a minimum of 8 characters.
