EU Rep – GDPR compliance for Non-EU companies
If you are a company based outside the EU, selling to people in the EU, (or even holding data on customer behaviour in the EU) then the chances are that a little known part of GDPR could have a huge effect on you.
Put simply, Article 27 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) states that ‘Organisations that process EU residents’ data, but that are established outside of the EU, must formally appoint a representative in the European Union to represent them on data protection matters’.
And the penalties are huge for failure to comply: Administration fines for a breach of the GDPR can be up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover, and in some EU countries, some offences also carry criminal liability, which could lead to imprisonment.
So if you have clients and customers in the EU, and if you want to comply with the law, then there are some key steps you need to take:
- Appoint a Data Protection Representative in the EU.
- Publish the EU representative’s contact details on your website together with your terms and conditions and/or privacy policy
- Publicise your EU representative’s point of contact for EU clients, customers and authorities regarding privacy matters.
EU Rep is the brainchild of David Fagan and Gail Chalmin, both respected lawyers with over 40 years experience in data protection. As David Fagan explained, “GDPR carries significant penalties for non-compliance, so we decided to create a simple, easy to use solution that helps non-EU businesses comply cost-effectively”.
David continued “Whilst we do not anticipate a rash of European Arrest Warrants greeting visitors at their arrival to an EU airport, European arrest warrants definitely a possibility for some data protection breaches in some jurisdictions, and being charged with failure to comply is definitely an unwelcome outcome that can affect a company’s reputation”.
Gail Chalmin explained how EU Rep works “For as little as just €19 per month EU Rep will act as your EU based representative, provide privacy materials and tell you what you need to display, for example on your website”.
With Ireland set to be the only English speaking member of the EU after BREXIT Gail explained how EU Rep aids international companies. “EU Rep acts as your first point of contact if there is a complaint; we can identify the nature of the complaint, translate the notice into your language and advise on the steps you need to take”.
