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How Europe’s New Privacy Rule Is Reshaping the Internet
Article

How Europe’s New Privacy Rule Is Reshaping the Internet

This May, the GDPR will give companies a new set of rules for sharing data online

The Verge, 2018

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), set to take effect in May 2018, is already changing the landscape of the Internet. For companies that gather personal data, the law places more stringent requirements on the ways they obtain consent; it also introduces a new level of regulation regarding what companies can do with personal data once they have some. The Verge’s Russell Brandom outlines the GDPR’s scope and expected impact on users and companies. getAbstract recommends this brief but information-packed article to anyone in the business of personal data and for those whose data are shared.

Summary

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out new rules for companies’ use of personal data. The law, which passed in 2016, comes into force in May 2018. Although the regulation covers only data on EU citizens, it will affect most online services because they operate globally. In fact, the rules were already exerting visible effects in the United States by early 2018. That’s because previous EU laws on privacy didn’t apply to companies based outside the EU, while the GDPR does.

Some requirements will affect users directly...

About the Author

Russell Brandom writes about the web, culture and law for The Verge.