There are now less than 100 days remaining until the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May.
With that in mind, EuroCommerce is reminding all retailers and wholesalers to take the necessary action to be ready and compliant by that date, echoing the recent European Commission warning of an urgent need to step up preparations at Member State level.
Several retail and wholesale companies and organisations have invested significantly to put in place compliance measures, while EuroCommerce itself published a guide, The new EU Data Protection Rules - A Guide for Retailers, a year ago, which is aimed at helping its members in ensuring customers’ privacy.
The guide is currently being updated to take into account new insights and guidance from the authorities.
Discussions
As part of the preparations, EuroCommerce and other key EU trade organisations recently met Commissioners Ansip, Jourovà and Gabriel to discuss GDPR and e-privacy.
The Commission recently launched a tool to help companies that make use of personal data comply with the new law.
“We welcome the Commission’s guidelines to help business, especially small companies, comply with the GDPR," said Christian Verschueren, Director-General at EuroCommerce.
"EuroCommerce is currently updating its own guide for retailers on how to comply with the Regulation to include guidelines issued by the Working Party of national data protection authorities. Retailers are still working on how best to organise using consumer data for improved service and obtaining consumers’ consent for the use of their data."
Verschueren added that EuroCommerce will be "providing additional tools to retailers in March to promote data protection awareness and compliance support.”
More To Do
Moreover, GDPR is not the end of the story. Verschueren voiced the sector’s concerns at potential overlaps or contradictions between the GDPR, adopted last year, and the e-Privacy Regulation, currently being debated in the European Parliament and Council.
“Decision-makers need to ensure that the e-Privacy Regulation and GDPR can work together seamlessly, rather than, as at present, risk obligations contradicting each other, which could cause real problems in how we deal with customers," said Verschueren.
"Consumers want to have confidence that their data is being used properly, and retailers and wholesalers need to be able to implement both Regulations in a way which serves all of our customers’ interests.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
