If you’re an owner of a blog or any website, then perhaps you’ve already contemplated if your online domain is governed by the same rules that commercial sites must follow.
Well if you’re website is collecting personal data from your users (names, email addresses, session details, IP addresses, payment details, etc.), you have a newsletter sign-up or contact page, and you use 3rd party services like Google AdSense or Analytics, then the privacy rules and policies that apps and commercial sites should follow will also apply to your blog. And these rules are collectively known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
And if you want to be guided on how to make your blog site GDPR compliant, we invite you to read more as we will tackle this topic about GDPR for bloggers: ways to ensure your blog is compliant in today’s post.
What Is GDPR
Before we proceed to the main topic, allow us to explain first what GDPR is.
To put it simply, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR is a data privacy law that is created by the European Union. And it states that whenever a website gathers or stores data from a citizen of an EU member country, they are required to:
- Let the user know about the name of your website, inform them why you are collecting personal data or any identifiable information (name, location, ethnicity, political inclination, etc.)from them, and how long will the data be stored on your website.
- Get clear consent from the user before collecting their data.
- Allow the users to access or delete their data that are stored on your website.
- Inform the users if a data breach has happened.
GDPR Basics
- It Applies To All Websites That Process Personal Data – Of course, this term usually refers to the name, email address, and contact number but it also pertains to any other personally identifiable information of the user.
- It Creates New Responsibilities – By processing the user’s personal data, you as the owner of the blog will be truly accountable and responsible for the security of their information and the way it’s going to be used in your blog.
- It Covers Globally – GDPR may be created by the EU, but it applies to all websites, regardless of where they are created and where the owner is located.
- It Applies To Everybody And Not Just For Traditional Businesses – GDPR policies are created to regulated website owners on what they will do with their user’s personal data, and not to know who you are, what your website is, and why did you do it.
- Non-Compliance Will Result In Staggering Fines – Fines can reach up to $24 million (€20 million) or 4 percent of the global revenue, whichever amount is higher.
Legal Requirements That Apply Specifically To Blogging
Since you are a blogger, you must be aware of the certain GPDR regulations which apply to the kind of website you have. If your blog offers services that will somehow interact with the data of the users, then the GDPR law requires you to create a privacy policy statement and comply with the data privacy laws indicated in the GDPR. And compliance with the law requires you to disclose any data collection and inform the blog users of the rights they have in relation to the data collected as well as the implementing process of receiving or rescinding consent.
Failure to comply with the indicated policies can result in fines and leave your blog open to litigation which can affect your blog’s credibility in the process (the standard process being: warning, reprimand, suspension of data processing, and fine).
Even though the possibility of being fined as a blogger is extremely low, the basic principles of GDPR should be obeyed by everybody to make the internet a better and safer place for everyone.
Ways To Ensure Your Blog Is GDPR Compliant
Without legal assistance, you’ll easily get overwhelmed as the actual GDPR regulation contains 250 pages, 99 main articles, and 173 recitals. That’s why it’s important to consult a GDPR lawyer as they can guide you further with the legal technicalities of GDPR compliance.
And here are the bases you need to cover to ensure your blog is GDPR compliant:
- Provide Consent Options For New EU Users – Set up an email marketing service so you can add another layer of consent that is meant for new EU users or subscribers. This way they will be redirected to a GPDR consent page where they can provide consent without filling your blog’s opt-in forms with checkboxes.
- Provide Consent Options For Existing EU Users – Besides setting up an email marketing service for new EU users, you also need to reconfirm existing EU users to keep these subscribers on your list.
Hence, you’ll have to send an email message to existing EU users and ask their consent if they will allow you to include their personal data in your list so they’ll be able to continue receiving emails and notifications from you.
- Implement These 7 Actions In Your Blog – After taking care of your EU users, you also have to implement these 7 actions in your blog.
– Data access
– Data breach notification
– Data rectification system
– Right to be forgotten
– Cookie consent and management
– Terms and conditions policy
– Privacy policy
But if you find these tasks to be a bit overwhelming to accomplish on your own, there’s still a way for you to manage GPDR compliance effortlessly and that is by installing a WordPress plugin like WP GPDR Fix on your blog. This plugin allows you to avail of these features like:
- Simple checklist for guaranteed GPDR compliance
- “Display ONLY” option to EU visitors
- Sample scripts for emails and notifications
- Privacy policy and terms and conditions templates
- Has a “refuse EU traffic” option
Final Word
Overall, the process of making your blog GPDR compliant doesn’t have to be complicated. All you need to do is follow the information we have shared here and you can immediately go back to making blog contents in no time.
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