{"id":41125,"title":"Data protection law changes on 25 May 2018: Are you ready?","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2018-05-23T12:34:10+00:00","modified":"2018-05-23T12:37:35+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/data-protection-law-changes-on-25-may-2018/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/data-protection-law-changes-on-25-may-2018.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/data-protection-law-changes-on-25-may-2018.json","category":"Blogs","categories":["Blogs","Financial"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Stencil-Google-Chrome-2023-04-19-at-2.47.43-PM.jpeg?fit=1231%2C615&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":" \n\nYour customers and employees need to be able to trust you with their **personal information** or, as the law calls it, their **personal data**.\n\n##\n\n### Data protection law changes on 25 May 2018\n\nThe law on data protection says what you should do when you collect, use, store or do anything else with people’s personal data. This law changes on 25 May 2018.\n\nThe changes reflect the realities of the digital age and the need for people to take more control over their personal data.\n\nSo you need to check whether data protection law and the coming changes apply to your business. You can do this by taking the self-assessment below.\n\n \n\n### **Why is data protection important?**\n\nYour customers, employees and other individuals need to be able to trust you to look after and use their personal data properly and safely. Knowing they can trust you is good for your business.\n\nComplying with the rules is also legally required.\n\n \n\n### The new data protection law does apply to your business. You may be thinking?\n\n \n\n### Why can’t the ICO just tell me exactly what I need to do?\n\nThat would be good but there are millions of small businesses in the UK, in many different sectors. They collect different types of personal data from a wide variety of customers, staff and other individuals for many different reasons in many different ways. So it’s impossible for the ICO to produce a to-do list that would be right for every small business.\n\nBut you know your business better than anyone else. So, by making use of our resources and advice, you should be able to work out how to comply with the new law.\n\nIf your sector has a professional association or trade body you should look at what information they’re producing about the new law.\n\n \n\n### OK, so how should I prepare for the new law?\n\n \n\nListen to Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham talk you through eight steps you should take now. Or read them in the list below, you can also find a link to more detail on each step at the bottom of the page.\n\n \n\n \n\n**1. Know **the law is changing – which you now do, so that’s one thing you’ve done already!\n\n**2. Make sure you have a record **of the personal data you hold and why.\n\n**3. Identify** why you have personal data and how you use it.\n\n**4. Have a plan **in case people ask about their rights regarding the personal information you hold about them.\n\n**5. Ask yourself: before I collect their data, **do I clearly** **tell people why I need it and how I will use it?\n\n**6. Check your security**.** **This can include locking filing cabinets and password-protecting any of your devices and cloud storage that hold your staff or customers’ personal data.\n\n**7. ****Develop a process** to make sure you know what to do if you breach data protection rules.\n\n**8. Don’t panic: we’re here to help. **For example, [you can click here to see some frequently asked questions](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/resources-and-support/getting-ready-for-the-gdpr-resources/#faqs) and their answers for several different business sectors.\n\n[Original Article Link](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/making-data-protection-your-business)\n\n "}