The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union (EU). It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. The GDPR aims primarily to give control back to citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU. When the GDPR takes effect, it will replace the data protection directive (officially Directive 95/46/EC) of 1995. The regulation was adopted on 27 April 2016. It becomes enforceable from 25 May 2018 after a two-year transition period and, unlike a directive, it does not require national governments to pass any enabling legislation, and is thus directly binding and applicable.

Any company that stores or processes personal information about EU citizens within EU states must comply with the GDPR, even if they do not have a business presence within the EU. Specific criteria for companies required to comply are:

• A presence in an EU country.
• No presence in the EU, but it processes personal data of European residents.
• More than 250 employees.
• Fewer than 250 employees but its data-processing impacts the rights and freedoms of data subjects, is not occasional, or includes certain types of sensitive personal data. That effectively means almost all companies. A PwC survey showed that 92 percent of U.S. companies consider GDPR a top data protection priority.

• Protect Document Security
• Protect Cloud Security
• Protect Customer Data and Privacy
• Protect Company Digital Property
• Get more Business Opportunity from customers
• Quality Assurance
• Prevent Data Leak

There will be two levels of fines based on the GDPR.  The first is up to €10 million or 2% of the company’s global annual turnover of the previous financial year, whichever is higher.  The second is up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global annual turnover of the previous financial year, whichever is higher.  The potential fines are substantial and a good reason for companies to ensure compliance with the Regulation.

The Parliament had requested for fines to reach €100 million or 5% of the company’s global annual turnover.  The agreed fines are the compromise that was reached.

Fines for infringements will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will take a number of criteria into consideration, such as the intentional nature of the infringement, how many subjects were affected and any previous infringements by the controller or processor.