What is the purpose of the GDPR? You are doubtless familiar with it by now. It’s the General Data Protection Regulation. It’s a new EU law coming into force on the 25th of May. We’ve written before about GDPR here.
That’s why you have been been bombarded by emails in the past weeks, asking if you are willing to continue receiving emails after the 25th. The missives in question will have been from companies and organisations seeking your approval. Thats the thing about GDPR: it’s all about approval. You have to assent. Here’s what HM Government has to say:
Your customers, employees and other individuals need to be able to trust you to look after and use their personal data responsibly and safely. Knowing they can trust you is good for your organisation or business and you may risk a fine if you don’t comply.
– UK Government
Obviously the UK will be leaving the European Union, perhaps next year, but the exact terms are unknown. But that isn’t going to impact the GDPR. It’s UK law and will remain so after Brexit so it’s worth getting used to.
But in the next ten days or so, the first victims of GDPR will continue to be you as firms seek to get your permission to market to you before the rules change. And it’s a fairly ludicrous situation and not at all what the are GDPR rules are all about.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the emails I’ve been receiving is quite how anonymous and confusing they are. They come from umbrella companies and aren’t user friendly at all. I’m not sure what I’m unsiging from or agreeing to at all. And that’s surely not the point of the new law.
Have you been bombarded by emails in the past few weeks?
6 Responses
yes, its bloody lovely. its like a mass unsubscribe happening in my inbox with no extra input required. I can just pick out what i want to keep !! haha
I contact my customers by email to keep them informed of new products, but now my email list has been decimated as people haven’t replied. 20% of my subscribers actively open my emails and click on the products – and yes place orders too – but only about 1% have opted in to keep the emails so this is going to seriously impact my business. This means I am going to have to completely change my marketing. More expense and hassle.
Unfortunately like most of these regulations, it only affects the genuine companies who are bothering to comply with GDPR, this means its no better than the ‘unsubscribe’ link you get in every email they send. The level of true ‘SPAM’ will doubtless stay exactly the same
I’ve ignored all the emails … I assume I’ll be unsubscribed from numerous organisations. I doubt the world will end.