What is the GDPR?

Article author
Rebecca Miller
  • Updated

What is the GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a new European privacy regulation which replaces the current EU Data Protection Directive (“Directive 95/46/EC”). The GDPR aims to strengthen the security and protection of personal data in the EU, and give more control to EU citizens over their personal data. 

How does the GDPR change EU privacy law?

The GDPR is an important legislative change in data privacy regulation to further protect user data and will replace the Data Protection Directive, adopted in 1995.

Besides strengthening and standardizing user data privacy across the EU nations, it requires new or additional obligations on all organizations that handle EU citizens’ personal data, regardless of where the organizations themselves are located.

What is considered personal data?

Personal data is any information that is personally identifiable of a living individual, such as a name, an identification number, location data, or an online identifier. A more complete definition can be found here.



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