We answer the most common questions about the new data protection laws and what they mean for you
WONDERING why your email inbox is overflowing with messages asking you to “keep connected” or “stay in touch”?
Apps, social media firms, advertisers and countless others desperately want people to “review our privacy policy” and “accept new terms and conditions.”
You might assume this has something to do with the recent Facebook scandal, where founder Mark Zuckerberg had to apologise for allowing users’ data to end up in the hands of political forces.
But the real reason is a major shake-up of EU laws governing the information kept about you online.
The less-than-snappily-titled General Data Protection Regulations (EU) 2016/679 comes into force tomorrow.
The beefed-up “GDPR” rules mean everyone from hi-tech firms to public bodies need to change their ways.
This should be good news if you are deluged by spam or embarrassed by party pictures on social media.
Here, GRANT ROLLINGS answers some common questions about the changes.
Do I need to reply to emails asking me to review a privacy policy?
If that message came from a provider you actually like, such as a charity or your favourite football team, not responding will limit their future interactions with you.
Under the new data laws you need to give clear consent to online tracking or being sent unexpected messages.
And if you haven’t done so by today, that charity or football team might have to stop letting you know about new offers and deals.
Don’t worry, though – if you miss today’s deadline it shouldn’t mean you are suddenly blocked by all the sites or services you have been subscribed to.
Will I have to read through lots of boring legal forms?
Everything in the new digital age is snappy and easy to digest – apart from the long and baffling terms and conditions.
That all changes from today.
Under the new law, companies cannot use mind-numbing T&Cs full of impenetrable legal jargon to make you aware of the changes.
The request for consent must be given in an intelligible, separate and easily accessible form.
And if they are handing over your data to someone else, they have to spell it out in plain English.
Can I decide what ads and emails I want to receive?
If you are suffering from unticking fatigue, help is on its way.
Currently consumers face the annoying task of having to untick several boxes that ask them whether they are happy to receive “selected marketing” communications.
After today, you will only receive ads from “marketing partners” if you are told their name and you actively tick or click on a box to say you want them.
Will I still receive email spam?
While the cascade will be greatly reduced, it won’t cease altogether.
Legitimate companies should abide by the new rules but there is little to stop conmen sending emails offering to enlarge your manhood or informing you about a financial windfall waiting in Nigeria.
Can I challenge the data which is kept about me?
If you lost out on a loan, a pay rise or a job because a computer has said “no”, you can now ask for a good old-fashioned human being to be involved in the decision- making process.
The problem until now has been that computers have based their decisions on the information they are given.
If the data held about you was incorrect or incomplete, you may have been treated unfairly.
Adam French, a consumer rights expert from Which?, said: “For some workers an algorithm is used to judge whether they are completing their tasks quickly enough to be paid a certain rate.
“With the new law, you’ll be able to get a human involved, because maybe you are being slowed down by faulty machinery and the computer doesn’t know that.”
Can I have embarrassing information about me taken offline?
If there is a particularly sensitive image or over-opinionated late-night social media post that you don’t want anyone to see any more, help could be on the way.
Under the new law you will be able to ask for so-called “Data Erasure”, so those words and images are removed from sight forever.
But this “right to be forgotten” is not guaranteed and can be challenged by the firm holding the data.
Will the change mean fewer ads popping up on my screen?
What caused the most outrage in the recent scandal involving Facebook was that British marketing firm Cambridge Analytica used data such as post “likes” to create a profile of millions of voters.
But profiling is also used by firms to target adverts at consumers.
And many companies, such as Facebook, have made a fortune by harvesting that data for advertisers.
From now on firms will have to make it clearer that they do this, and consumers will be able to opt out of profiling for targeted ads.
Ailidh Callander, a lawyer for Privacy International, which has campaigned for tougher data laws, said: “Companies are exploiting our data in ways we do not understand, making it their business to learn about your habits, sex interests, political beliefs and more.
"Companies must protect our data and the new privacy law pushes companies do this.”
Will my kids be better protected?
The new rules say that younger children cannot consent to online services without a parent’s agreement.
But there is little to stop your kids from pretending they are an adult.
What happens if my data is hacked?
There was outrage last November when taxi app Uber admitted it had kept secret a data breach that affected 57million of its customers and drivers.
From today, firms will need to report any breach within 72 hours of first becoming aware of it.
Failure to comply could result in a fine which is equal to two per cent of the firm’s annual global turnover.
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Who has to obey the new laws?
Every business, no matter how big or small, has to abide by the new data protection laws – from media giants to landlords with just one buy-to-let property.
Public services also need to implement it, as do firms operating from outside of the EU if they want to do business within it.
At the moment the Government intends to keep the new EU data laws after Brexit.
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