General Data Protection Regulation facts for kids
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a special law in Europe. It helps protect your personal information. Think of it like a shield for your data!
This important law was agreed upon on 27 April 2016. It started to be fully used on 25 May 2018. The European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission all approved it.
The GDPR makes sure that people in the European Union (EU) have control over their own data. It also helps make rules simpler for businesses that deal with data across different countries. This law replaced an older one from 1995. It's a strong law, meaning countries in the EU don't need to make their own new laws for it to work.
If companies or people don't follow the GDPR, they can face very big penalties. These fines can be as high as 20,000,000 euros. Or, they could be up to 4% of the company's money earned in the past year, whichever amount is larger.
What Data Rules Does GDPR Enforce?
The General Data Protection Regulation sets clear rules to protect your privacy. It gives you important rights about your personal information:
- Your Right to Agree: You have the right to say "yes" or "no" if a company wants to use your private information. They need your permission!
- Your Right to Be Forgotten: You can ask a company to stop having access to your private information. This means they should delete it or make it unavailable.
- Your Right to Decide: You get to choose if your private information becomes public or stays private.
- No Processing Without Permission: No one can use or "process" your personal data unless you have given them permission to do so.
Important Dates for GDPR
The GDPR didn't just appear overnight. Here are some key dates in its journey:
- 25 January 2012: The first idea for the GDPR was shared.
- 21 October 2013: The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on whether GDPR should become the new rule for people in Europe.
- 15 December 2015: The European Parliament, Council, and Commission met to talk about the GDPR. They came up with a shared plan that day.
- 17 December 2015: The European Parliament's LIBE Committee voted to approve the discussions between the three groups.
- 8 April 2016: The European Union officially adopted the General Data Protection Regulation. Only Austria voted against it, saying some parts weren't as good as the old law.
- 14 April 2016: The European Parliament officially adopted the GDPR. It replaced the Data Protection Directive they used before.
- 24 May 2016: The GDPR started to be used around the world, but it wasn't fully enforced yet. This was 20 days after it was officially published.
- 25 May 2018: The General Data Protection Regulation became fully enforced everywhere. This was two years after the law was created.
- July/August 2018: The GDPR also started to be used in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. These countries joined the EEA Joint Committee and agreed to follow the rules.
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