Re: Is this forum prepared for the GDPR?
- Posted by ChrisB (moderator) Apr 29, 2018
- 2447 views
If a US (and we'll use US to encompass the rest of the non-EU world too) company has a base or office within the EU, then that company must be bound by the GDPR.
If a company does not have a base or office within the EU, but trades with the EU, then it is likely that that company will need to be GDPR compliant in order to continue to trade with the EU.
If the company has neither a base within the EU, and does not trade withe the EU, then they do not have to be GDPR compliant. If a US company sells stuff to individuals within the EU, but has no trade agreement, then the company will not have to comply with the GDPR, but will have to comply with local data protection legislation. However, if there is a data leak, then the local regulations will kick in, or if the GDPR police decide to chase the company, then they will have to do it with the co-operation of the local agencies.
If EU companies (that are bound to GDPR) do business with US companies then the onus is on the EU companies to ensure that any data handling shared with the US company is GDPR compliant - it is the EU company that the GDPR police will come after, hence enforcing the policing of GDPR by EU companies.
The bottom line is no one is really too sure what is going to be the implications for international companies. I suspect that companies that do a lot of trade with the EU will ensure that they make efforts toward GDPR for simple market financial reasons, and those that don't, or only deal with individuals on an ad hoc basis won't.
If the web hoster has any offices within the EU, then I suspect that they will need to become GDPR compliant, otherwise, I suspect that most won't bother, and rely on the local regulations. It would probabbly be wise for the forum to post an acceptance of terms and conditions, and understanding that any data that is shared here is done so at their own risk, and that the data is held not in the EU, and as such subject to local regulations.
Cheers
Chris
