From 25 May 2018, Australasian businesses of any size may need to comply with the GDPR if they have an establishment in the EU, if they offer goods and services in the EU, or if they monitor the behaviours of individuals in the EU.

Australasian risk managers have been warned they face unprecedented fines if their business fail to adhere to new European Union data regulations.

UK-based Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has handed out a record number of fines in January as pressure mounts on businesses to address data issues before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline in May.

From 25 May 2018, Australasian businesses of any size may need to comply with the GDPR if they have an establishment in the EU, if they offer goods and services in the EU, or if they monitor the behaviours of individuals in the EU.

The GDPR includes requirements that resemble those in the Australian Privacy Act 1988, and additional measures that similarly aim to foster transparent information handling practices and business accountability around data handling. 

Organisations that fail to comply with the GDPR face heavy fines up to €20 million or up to 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher.

According to new figures, a record £1.7 million was handed out in fines by the ICO, compared to £4.9 million for the whole of 2017. This new record represents an increase of 312% above the average monthly figure for 2017.

Financial services firms topped the hall of shame with 44% of fines being targeted at the sector.

A total of nine companies were fined in January; the highest for any one month.

Nuisance calls continued to dominate the fine landscape, attracting penalties of £900,000 or 54% of all fines in the month.

 

 

 

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