GDPR Compliance for Websites: A Simplified Explanation for Students

📚 Understanding GDPR: A Simplified Guide for Websites

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union (EU) law about data protection and privacy. It affects any website that collects data from people in the EU, even if the website is based outside of the EU.

🎯 Key Objectives

• 🔑 Data Protection Awareness: Understand the core principles of GDPR and its implications for website owners.
• ✍️ Compliance Requirements: Identify the essential steps needed to make a website GDPR compliant.
• 🛡️ User Rights: Recognize the rights of users regarding their personal data and how to uphold them.

📝 Materials

• 📄 GDPR Text: GDPR Official Website
• 💻 Computer with Internet access
• 📝 Note-taking materials

🔥 Warm-up (5 minutes)

Brainstorm: What personal data does a typical website collect? (e.g., email addresses, IP addresses, cookies)

👨‍🏫 Main Instruction

1. Core Principles:

• ⚖️ Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Data processing must be lawful, fair, and transparent to the user.
• 🔒 Data Minimization: Collect only necessary data.
• ✅ Purpose Limitation: Use data only for specified, legitimate purposes.
• 💾 Storage Limitation: Retain data only as long as necessary.
• 💯 Accuracy: Ensure data is accurate and up-to-date.
• 🛡️ Integrity and Confidentiality: Protect data from unauthorized access.

2. Website Compliance Steps:

• 🍪 Cookie Consent: Implement a cookie consent banner to get user permission.
• 📜 Privacy Policy: Create a clear and accessible privacy policy.
• 🔐 Data Security: Use HTTPS and secure data storage.
• ⚙️ User Rights: Provide mechanisms for users to access, rectify, erase, and restrict processing of their data.
• 🚨 Data Breach Notification: Have a plan for notifying users and authorities in case of a data breach.

3. User Rights Explained:

• Access: Users can request access to their data.
• Rectification: Users can correct inaccurate data.
• Erasure ('Right to be Forgotten'): Users can request data deletion.
• Restriction of Processing: Users can limit how their data is used.
• Portability: Users can obtain their data in a portable format.
• Object: Users can object to data processing.

📝 Assessment

Quiz: GDPR Compliance for Websites

1. What is the main goal of GDPR?
2. Name three core principles of GDPR.
3. Why is a cookie consent banner important for GDPR compliance?
4. Explain the 'right to be forgotten'.
5. What should a website owner do in case of a data breach?