May 25, 2018
EU General Data Protection Regulation takes effect
The EU General Data Protection regulationGovernment rules governing technology — privacy, competition, safety, and export controls. became enforceable on May 25, 2018 — setting global standards for consent, data portability, breach notification, and fines up to 4% of worldwide revenue.
What it was for
GDPRGeneral Data Protection Regulation — EU law governing how organizations collect and process personal data. forced every SaaSSoftware as a Service — applications delivered over the internet on a subscription basis. vendor with EU users to rebuild privacy settings, cookie banners, data-export APIs, and deletion workflows. It inspired California's CCPACalifornia Consumer Privacy Act — a state law giving residents rights over personal data held by businesses., Brazil's LGPD, and made 'data protection officer' a standard hire — changing how engineers log, retain, and anonymize personal data by default.
Why it's here
GDPRGeneral Data Protection Regulation — EU law governing how organizations collect and process personal data. is the privacy law every developer has implemented against since 2018.
Why it mattered
It made privacy-by-design and lawful-basis tracking routine in product roadmaps.
What it solved
EU citizens had weak, inconsistent protections as personal data flowed across borders unchecked.
Media
- ImageGeneral Data Protection Regulation
User:Verdy p, User:-xfi-, User:Paddu, User:Nightstallion, User:Funakoshi, User:Jeltz, User:Dbenbenn, User:Zscout370, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- EU Court invalidates EU–U.S. Privacy ShieldJuly 16, 2020
- HTTP cookies introduced in NetscapeOctober 1994