GDPR legislation mentions cookies in only a single instance throughout the 88 pages of its documentation, but that doesn’t mean they’re not incredibly important.

 

In fact, cookies are the cornerstone of how our data is collected and managed. It’s essential that businesses understand what they are, how they function, and the consequences of not delivering an appropriate cookie consent opt-in for their users.

What are cookies?

Cookies are tiny text files placed in your web browser as you look at websites. They have a variety of uses and in themselves aren’t at all harmful. So, what’s the problem? And why does every website you visit have a cookie banner pride of place as the first thing you see?

 

Well, cookies store all kinds of data, which can be used to identify users without their consent, giving away private information that they’d prefer stayed private.

 

GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive (known as ‘cookie law’), and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) dictate the practices every website must implement if they, at any time, will place cookies in a browser that gather the data of a European citizen.

 

Types of cookies

Based on duration

Based on provenance

Based on purpose

What is personal data?

For example: Names and surnames, home addresses, personal email addresses, identification numbers, location data, IP addresses, cookie IDs, mobile phone identifiers, and medical IDs.

For example: Racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union memberships, genetic data, biometric data, health and sex-life information, and sexual orientation.

Why do we need to provide cookie consent?

GDPR states:

Natural persons may be associated with online identifiers provided by their devices, applications, tools and protocols, such as internet protocol addresses, cookie identifiers or other identifiers such as radio frequency identification tags. This may leave traces which, in particular when combined with unique identifiers and other information received by the servers, may be used to create profiles of the natural persons and identify them.

 

In simpler terms, it means that any data gathered that could be used to determine who we are should only be collected if we say that it’s okay to do so. Given that cookies collect precisely those types of data, and that it’s considered our right to keep that information private, the websites must ask our permission before any such gathering or utilization can happen.

 

What is the cookie policy?

Your cookie policy needs to tell your users which cookies are active on your website and how they’re used. It provides detail of the information you track and why and where it’s sent worldwide.

 

It will also contain the instructions your users will need to opt-in, opt-out, change their minds at any point, and subsequently their cookie settings. Legally, you must have a cookie policy if you’re to comply with GDPR and CCPA legislation.

What does your cookie policy need to include?

  1. The types of cookie you use.
  2. How long they stay in your browser.
  3. The data they track and the categories of personal information they store.
  4. The purpose of the cookie.
  5. Where the data is sent, and who it’s shared with.
  6. Instructions into changing those settings and rejecting cookies.

 

These are the determining factors of the cookie notice examples you see each day. Your policy may be linked to a banner or integrated into the cookie pop up requirements you need to consent to before accessing your desired pages.

Do I need a cookie policy on my website?

It would be incredibly unlikely that a website wouldn’t need a cookie policy. So few websites function without any essential cookies being placed, and for those cookies to be able to do their job, they need the user’s consent almost all of the time. And as we said earlier, it’s a legal requirement under GDPR and CCPA, so if you think you can get away without one, then think again.

 

 

There are still a few incredibly simple websites that don’t use cookies, and even then, it’s rarely worth the risk of skipping out on a cookie consent banner or alternate opt-in option, given the simplicity of adding them to most systems. You can’t be sure when you’ll implement a function that requires user consent, or a third party application that drops cookies that you didn’t realize.

 

 

The best way to understand what level of cookie control you need and how to protect yourself while gathering such data is to utilize a tool that determines the cookies in use on your website. With all the relevant information at your fingertips and a system that manages it for you, integrating the results directly into your policy, it means that you’ll never miss an instance that may leave you vulnerable.

How to deliver a website cookie notice

GDPR states that each website must adhere to the following requirements.

  1. Consent must be provided before any cookies are installed and activated, apart from whitelisted, necessary cookies.
  2. Users must be able to decide which cookies they activate and which they don’t. It must be more than a simple ‘all or none’ option.
  3. Consent must be freely obtained and given.
  4. A user should be able to withdraw their choices just as easily as they opted into them.
  5. All consent must be stored as legal documentation.
  6. Consent shouldn’t be open-ended; renewal should be obtained each year or at shorter intervals where appropriate.

You will have seen myriad ways of acquiring consent, during the numerous times each day you click ‘accept’ to remove the occasionally annoying cookie banner examples at the top or bottom of each page.

How you choose to present yours is down to the system you use to track and activate each of the cookies on your website and integrate them into your banner, pop-up, or policy.

What happens if you don’t comply with GDPR?

The first consequence of GDPR non-compliance is that your users’ data and privacy are available for violation, and harvesting by data collectors. The second, and of far more concern to website operators, are the hefty fines and penalties delivered by GDPR.

 

GDPR has the power to deliver fines of up to 4% of an organization’s global turnover, or a flat fine of €20 million—whichever is highest.

 

If you don’t think that such fines happen in the real world and are merely empty threats to force the powers that be back into line, don’t be so quick to judge.

 

Whether you’re operating at a level subject to merit such monumental figures or not, the fines associated with your operation’s size are often enough to damage your budget and the health of your business significantly. Nobody should be running that type of risk.

 

Wrapping things up…

Complying with legislation is a must if you want to protect yourself from potentially crippling fines and penalties.

 

PrivacyRun delivers an efficient and cost-effective solution that your business needs to keep your website data and cookie control in order.

 

Our package performs to all GDPR and CCPA legislation. Talk to one of our team about cookie consent examples if you’d like to dig a little deeper. It’s the complete package every data controller needs to continue trading with confidence, providing peace of mind for all partners—earning them a trouble-free night’s sleep, every night.

Personal data protection has managed to push itself to the forefront of how we do business, deliver information, and collect useful particulars of the people we do—and would like to do—business with.

 

With the rise of the Internet and its fast-paced growth, our information is more accessible than ever. Handing over names, addresses, and bank details are all definite candidates for protection. Yet, recently the CCPA and GDPR legislation has been compacted to protect us against any personal data breach, whether we’re visiting websites or physical businesses.

 

We’re here to look into what that personal data is, the difference between GDPR vs CCPA collections, the deadlines for data provision and removal, and of course, how our PrivacyRun tool will help keep you ahead of the curve at all times.

 

First, though, for anyone not in the know, what is GDPR and CCPA? Well, they’re the legislative acts that define how consumer data is monitored and regulated. The acronyms stand for General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act.

 

GDPR is European legislation, and one of the most in-depth measures to control data throughout the world. It’s become the standard for the rest of the world to follow.

 

What about the CCPA? Why only California consumers? In the absence of an overall US law or regulation to contain data use, selling, and privacy in the States, the CCPA is the best they’ve got.

 

What are the GDPR and CCPA data rights?

Both organizations provide the data subject with similar rights, yet we’d be remiss if we didn’t outline the CCPA and GDPR differences.

The basic CCPA vs GDPR data rights are shown below.

So, how is CCPA different than GDPR when it comes to each of these rights? We’ll look at each one in a little detail to expand on what they mean.

Right to erasure

A consumer or data subject has the right to deletion unless in very specific circumstances. From the CCPA, the data needs to have been collected from the consumer to apply.

Exceptions from both legislations include freedom of speech, processing of personal data for research purposes, legal claims, and when complying with a legal obligation.

Right to be informed

The consumer or data subject also has the right to be informed at the point where their data is collected and processed. The information must include the categories of data, the purpose of its processing and the rights of the consumer. The CCPA demands that the ‘Do Not Sell My Personal Information Page’ link is included on any inclusion where the business intends to sell or transmit the data to a third party.

Right to object

All consumers and data subjects have the right to opt-out of such data processing or selling. The CCPA, again, demands the inclusion of the ‘Do Not Sell My Personal Information’ link. The GDPR stipulates that there should be several ways to opt-out of processing, by withdrawing consent or exercising their right to object.

Right of access

Another stipulation is the access and full visibility of the data that’s collected about each individual. Where access is granted, the information must be available to be transmitted back to the individual electronically, in a portable and useable format.

This pocket of information includes:

The CCPA also specifies consumers have the right to the categories of third parties their data has been shared with.

Right not to be subject to discrimination for the exercise of rights

This is a hard and fast rule of the CCPA, whereas, with the GDPR, it’s not exclusive. Yes, you can find provisions in several areas of GDPR that amount to a similar thing, more along the lines of discriminatory consequences derived from the processing of their data.

 

The CCPA, with its definite scope, protects the use of consumer data to prevent being denied goods or services. It also prevents consumers from being charged different prices or rates for goods and services, provided a different level of quality for the same, or even to have it suggested that they’d receive different prices and rates.

 

Right to data portability

Both laws offer fairly consistent rules and values about portability. The CCPA sees it as a right to access, while the GDPR considers it a separate and distinctive right.

 

What they do agree on is that data subjects and consumers have a right to a structured, easily transmitted, and machine-readable format of their data. Applications require replies in specific timeframes, of which we’re about to detail.

 

Compare GDPR and CCPA notice periods and active timescales

Right to erasure, right to data portability—notice periods and timescales

Both legislations allow the deletion of individuals’ data apart from where specific exceptions apply. The deletion applies to any data collected from the consumer. The rights are very similar, only the timescales and a few other specifics differ.

 

GDPR versus CCPA timeframes:

 

GDPR – Requests for removal must be replied to within 1 month of the data subject’s request. This deadline can be extended a further 2 months in complex cases with large numbers of requests. However, the deadline must be outlined in the initial reply.

 

CCPA – Requests for removal must be replied to within 45 days of the consumer’s request. This deadline can be extended a further 45 days when reasonably necessary. Again, the extension must be outlined in the initial reply.

 

How PrivacyRun manages GDPR and CCPA compliance to keep you within the boundaries of legislation

 

PrivacyRun is the perfect solution to these CCPA GDPR problems. It’s fully compliant and built to make sure your business avoids missing deadlines—then becoming subject to the hefty penalties and fines.

 

It’s a personal data administrator’s optimum tool to monitor deadlines, responses, requests, and more.

 

The system dashboard delivers everything you’ll need in an easy to understand and digest presentation. It’s not just numbers and lists—it’s a clean and clear depiction of your process, including when and how your consumer requests are getting processed.

 

You’ll find neatly delivered graphs, sectioned and detailed with everything you need. PrivacyRun ecompasses consent management, data subject rights automation, personal data inventory and data mapping, all incidents of personal data breaches, and DPIA risk analysis. It covers both EU and US issues, and everywhere around the world where your data may arrive from or end up.

 

If you run several companies, we’ve got that covered too. Our compliance solution tool manages each organization independently, making sure you monitor and maintain your best practices, avoiding any failures in your data protection government.

 

Given the penalties of failing to adhere to regulations, can you afford not to have such a system in place?

 

And that brings us on to the CCPA GDPR differences in enforcement.

 

Enforcement of broken GDPR CCPA legislation

 

When it comes to enforcement, it’s not an area to be taken lightly. Those who fail to comply with the laws are at the hands of the US Attorney General and the National Data Protection Authorities.

 

Both authorities have different investigatory and enforcement powers, yet the fines are considerable, and avoidable with suitable best practices in place.

 

The difference between GDPR and CCPA fines are as follows:

 

The GDPR penalties for non-compliance can be up to 2% of the business annual turnover or €10 million, whichever is higher—or 4% of the global annual turnover or €20 million, whichever is higher.

 

The different fine rates depend on the violation under investigation.

 

The CCPA delivers civil penalties issued by a court, and, again, depending on the violation, you may be fined $2,500 for each accidental violation or $7,500 for each intentional violation.

 

There is no maximum amount set by the CCPA for the imposition of several penalties for each violation.

 

Damages for individuals pursuing privacy violations

 

As if the penalties outlined above weren’t trouble enough, both bodies provide data subjects and consumers with the right to seek damages.

 

How is CCPA different from GDPR when it comes to costing violations? The GDPR allows action to be taken against any violation of the law, where the CCPA only provides cause for failure of security measures in context of data breaches.

 

The GDPR doesn’t outline potential figures for damages, that will be left to the adjudicating bodies.

 

The CCPA ruling only permits that non-encrypted and non-redacted personal information is subject to unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure as a result of the business’s violation of security obligations.

 

The damages in such circumstances are to be no less than $100 or greater that $750 per consumer per incident, or a cost covered by actual damages—whichever is greater.

 

Conclusion

Looking into how GDPR vs CCPA chart their differences across their legislation, it’s easy to see plenty of similarities—but the overriding fact is that if you break the rules, you’ll pay for it.

 

Whether that’s missing deadlines for communication, selling data you shouldn’t, or failing to implement the correct information on your data collection points—they all add up to the same thing—costly penalties that you could have avoided.

 

PrivacyRun can help prevent all of that. It’s there to make sure you’ve got the systems to manage every piece of data and information within the remits of the law and the structures that govern them. If you don’t want to be caught short, then we suggest you speak to one of our team as soon as possible.

 

We put our all into everything we do. Because of that, we guarantee that our solutions are built to protect you—now, and far into the future.

Since the introduction of acts governed by GDPR and CCPA, there are now stricter rules on how many businesses and organizations are permitted to store our sensitive information.
The data retention law of both GDPR and CCPA outlines not only best practices but also how to stay in line with legislation, avoiding strict penalties and substantial fines.

These new penalties have hit some of the biggest brand names harder than they could have imagined, and for issues they didn’t realize they were even accountable. The time has come for businesses to examine how they’re storing data and if they’re complying with the new rules.

The best tool they can use to stay in line and on top of the procedure is an up-to-date, all-inclusive, data retention policy.

What is a data retention policy?

It’s a set of guidelines that dictates how each business handles its data, how long they can hold records, and why. It also sets out what’s to be done with that data once it reaches the limit of its allowable retention period.

A company has to explain why they’re holding onto each gathered data, and it’s those reasons that dictate the retention period. For both GDPR and CCPA, there are few specified time limits to data retention, but each organization must have them, and be able to justify how they came up with each timeframe.

Why do we need data retention policies?

After the introduction of GDPR, we became inundated with requests from businesses we’d long-since forgotten, as well as those who we still utilized regularly. That’s because all of those businesses still held our information in their systems, and to keep doing it, they needed permission.

What’s the problem with older and out of use information sitting on servers? Well, despite everyone’s best intentions, data breaches and server hacks happen all the time, and it’s that data that becomes vulnerable or provides the hacker access in the first place.

To limit the opportunities for hacking and data breaching, regulators mandated that the organizations storing personal data could only hang onto it if they had a legitimate reason.

GDPR data retention policy

You can read more about the GDPR legislation that covers data retention to see how it would impact your systems and data retention. The key area is Article 5, Principles relating to processing of personal data.

With GDPR, there are no set periods. So how do you decide on an acceptable duration to hold onto your users’ details?

You need to consider two main areas:

You can’t hold onto information just for the sake of it, but where you have a valid reason to, you could keep it indefinitely.

Legal or regulatory reasons include such things as for tax purposes, audits, or where it manages compliance with industry standards. Other reasons can include processing data for archiving reasons, where the information is relative to public interest, scientific, or historical research value.

Once you exceed an acceptable timeframe, that data needs to be removed or amended, so there is no possible way of tracing it back to the user.

CCPA data retention policy

The CCPA delivers its guidelines under Section 1798.105, the right to deletion. Each consumer can request a copy of the data stored, and where requested, have it deleted.

To be bound by CCPA legislation, a business must either:

How long a business or organization can retain a user’s data is dictated by the following:

These all look relatively straightforward at first glance, but applying an appropriate timeline to many can cast grey areas over a businesses’ view of the situation.

Items to include in a typical data retention policy example

Here’s a quick guide for data retention best practices. We cover, in 3 simplified steps, the things to consider when putting your retention policy in place.

Classify your data

The first thing you need to understand is the type of data your organization utilizes. Classifying data between industries will govern the stipulation you’re accountable to.

Not all data has the same retention ruling. GDPR compliance demands the classification of data types. It also categorizes ‘special’ data, such as race, ethnic origin, political opinion, biometric data, and health data. With that in mind, data controllers need to know how to
label their specifics correctly—including public, proprietary, or confidential classifications.

Legal requirements

Both GDPR and CCPA have taken prime positions in data management and processing debates over the past couple of years, but there are more regulatory organizations than just those.

When it comes to data and retention policy, you must understand which frameworks and regulations apply to your business or industry.

Deleting data that’s no longer required

A misconception within organizations is that holding each data is safer than deleting it, in
case they need it again later. Holding onto data longer than required can:

To operate effectively and within the law, you must remove data at its expiry date. Understanding when that date is is down to your retention policy.

What should you do with that out-dated data?

With GDPR, you have two options of what to do with your out-of-date accounts. You can delete it or anonymize it.

Deleting data

If you choose to delete it, you must guarantee to remove all copies. That’s both digital and hard copies, and from every location, server, or drive where it appears. Tracking down hard copies to shred or similar is easier to guarantee, but digital copies can find a way of cropping up in other, long-forgotten locations, or manual and automated back-ups.

If you’re found with such copies after the expiry date—anywhere on your systems—you’ll be in breach of legislation terms and vulnerable to their fines and punishments.

Anonymizing or pseudonymizing data

These are methods used to retain areas of useful information without being linked to the user that submitted it. It jumbles, masks, encrypts, or removes the connection to the individual so that the data can’t be traced back to the consumer.

Anonymizing data destroys any way of identifying the individual and is irreversible.

Pseudonymizing data substitutes the identity of the individual so that with the correct key or encryption, you can reverse the process and establish the original data suppliers.

When pseudonymizing data records, it shouldn't be possible for a third party to connect them to an identifiable subject. If you can detach the individual from the data, then GDPR allows you to hold onto that data indefinitely.

However, if associated data is held elsewhere within the business that could identify the subject, then the data hasn’t been sufficiently anonymized, and you could still be liable for their fines and penalties.

Managing your data retention policy with PrivacyRun

When it comes to data retention, PrivacyRun is a data controller’s best friend. The system manages the stipulation of both GDPR, CCPA, and other regulators’ legislation, keeping you informed and updated of the status of your data accounts and your position within the eyes
of each legal body.

With automated processes monitoring your data retention periods, it continuously verifies the validity dates of your accounts, and where they exceed your parameters, the software automatically takes the dedicated course of action.

For customer accounts that have expired, it checks for the governing conditions. Where they meet them, they are automatically deleted, anonymized or pseudonymized.

PrivacyRun works on the client side of individual IT systems. So, as well as automating data removal for expired accounts, it’s simple to set up built-in rules that also remove an individual’s data on their request. There are rules to govern a range of tasks that include the removal or editing of an individual’s data.

By empowering your business, it aids you to navigate easily avoided penalties and fines, and by reducing business risk, it organically improves the work of your compliance teams.

Not only is it incredibly effective, but it’s quick to deploy and easy to use. With each built-in process managing previously manual tasks, your company will deliver immediate customer satisfaction and at the same time freeing up your workers to get on with more important tasks.

First things first: what is multi-tenant software?

 

In the simplest of terms, a multi-tenant installation, when it comes to a piece of software or digital system is one that manages all of the associated businesses, companies, or organizations under the umbrella of the organization’s top-level administration.

 

Of course, for such a group of companies, there are distinct advantages to running their operations as separate entities instead of one huge corporation. On the flip side, there are always going to be a few disadvantages thrown into the mix to balance things out.

 

We’re here to consider the latest wave of privacy laws, data management, and their regulations. Whether you’re a sole operator or a host of interconnected businesses, the new rules and regulations apply.

 

If you’re not playing ball with the latest legislation, you could stand to face some pretty hefty fines. You might prefer managing your data requests company to company, or all at once with a tool that operates along the lines of the aforementioned model.

 

PrivacyRun handles precisely these issues and areas. Our cutting-edge data privacy software runs everything you need it to, seamlessly and effortlessly.

We’re going to tell you exactly just how much simpler it stands to make a life for its data administrators and officers. Also, how much peace of mind it will bring to your lawyers and accountants when it comes to dodging those mighty data breach penalties.

Managing data under the latest GDPR and CCPA regulations

GDPR and CCPA have been with us for a few years now: GDPR since 2018, and CCPA since January 2020. We were given plenty of warnings and provided with the guidelines—all well in advance. That should have provided the time we needed to adjust our systems into
operating within the new policies and the new laws that govern us.

 

But did we? And what were those new regulations we needed to be most aware of? Well, the main ones to sit up and take notice of were about how we collect data, how we make our data sources aware that it’s being collected, how we provide them with the access to it that they’re permitted, and not using all that information we’ve gathered in any way that isn’t considered sensitive or acceptable.

 

That said, there were plenty of the biggest names to pay the price of not taking the changes seriously enough. Just ask Marriott and Google. They both made assumptions that as US companies, they didn’t apply to the latest European legislation. However, with masses of data coming from users throughout Europe, they’ve been struck with penalties of $123 million and $56 million, respectively. What a wake-up call. And not only for them. There have been others who’ve fallen foul of equally troublesome fines. It’s a warning for anyone making the same assumptions that haven’t been brought into the fray just yet.

 

The time is now for data privacy software companies to step in and show the appropriate organizations the best way to stay on top and in charge. For those of you who aren’t sure whether your current data management is up to the job, it’s time you ran some data-mapping exercises and checked your policies.

 

Alternatively, buying into a service that already understands and works to the new regulations should take a huge weight and a lot of work off your shoulders.

 

With clean and clear updates into the latest and upcoming privacy laws, isn’t it worth developing some new best practices to avoid any penalties, and overloads to your existing teams and their workloads?

 

Benefits of operating multi-tenant operations and software

Security

A single server contained on secure hardware creates fewer opportunities for infiltration or unwanted access.

Cost

One multi-tenant installation incurs a simpler, single cost as opposed to that of multiple independent installations, services, and licenses. Cutting down on associated overheads: equipment, housing, IT resources, and sharing the single cost over many businesses, will offer even greater value by spreading the expense over all of your accounts.

Data aggregation/data mining

One of the key benefits of a multi-tenant operation is that data from multiple sources is managed, searched, and edited from a single administration point. Running queries becomes far simpler, patterns easier to detect, and plans for the future become easier to implement, track, and monitor.

Easy integration with other cloud-based operations

Hosting a single data arena over a cloud environment dictates that integration with other software services and APIs suddenly becomes far simpler to manage.

 

Benefits of using PrivacyRun to manage your multi-family data privacy requests

Let’s take a quick look at what PrivacyRun does for all of its users.

 

As the framework around data protection expands, you need to be able to guarantee compliance with each of the governing bodies.

 

PrivacyRun handles the intake and fulfilment of customer requests around those data privacy rules and regulations. It keeps you within the law, it’s easy to use, and it delivers the peace of mind you need to get on with the rest of your operation.

 

 

What makes PrivacyRun special for its multi-tenant operators?

The extensive authorization that PrivacyRun operates on provides the ability to support multiple entities in one business model, in one installation, while ensuring full separation of data at the authorization level.

 

Let’s dig a little deeper. Here are some of the key components that make it a standout package for multi-tenant operation.

 

 

So—when you need to create amendments; you can. When you need to generate reports detailing your plans and where you stand; you can. When you need to opt-out any individual from any of your associated organizations or update their information; you can do that too.

 

And that’s not all. You can track consent, avoid unauthorized data sales, review, manage and update your data policies in line with regulations. If you have an operation to carry out to any of your data, we’ve got it covered. PrivacyRun is everything you need to conform to the latest legislation governing your data efficiently, with masses of automation to streamline your workflow better than ever, and with all of your data sets under one roof.

 

We think we’ve thought of everything. If there’s something you need and it isn’t covered, let us know, and we’ll get right onto it.

 

Who is PrivacyRun made for?

 

Ultimately, PrivacyRun can aid any organization that needs to stay true to data privacy laws. Our clients include retail operations, cooperative banks, insurance companies, and more. And these are all business models that utilize our multi-tenant installation to their advantage. In these instances, we’ve created platforms that manage multiple client areas for:

 

That’s how we can help you too with data privacy

 

We’re still less than a year into abiding by the new ways of CCPA and only a little longer into GDPR. Over that time, we’ve seen confusion amongst businesses and organizations, and the delivery of easily avoidable fines.

 

If you collect data and believe you need to take note of the new ways into practising its management, then you shouldn’t leave it any longer.

 

Check your current systems. Examine your data; how you collect it; how easy it would be to access individual entries, package it up and deliver it to their owner. Do you hold the right to share it? Should you be selling it? And have you got the capacity to process masses of data requests if you suddenly become inundated at any point in your operation?

 

It would help if you were certain you could operate efficiently, legally, securely, and in line with current policy.

 

PrivacyRun was built to help. Don’t struggle along in the dark. Shine some light into your system. You’ll be glad of the peace of mind and the freedom it brings.