46% of consumers feel they are unable to effectively protect their data today, with 76% explaining it’s too hard for them to understand what’s going on and how their information is being used.

As consumers' concerns about their privacy continue to grow, some governments are implementing regulations to help address the privacy risks facing consumers today. 

In 2018, the European Union implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to create one legal framework for collecting and processing personal information from European Union (EU) residents. This landmark legislation has already inspired similar data privacy laws around the world, including in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and China. 

While GDPR is known for its data privacy violation punishments, complying with this data privacy law goes beyond avoiding fines. It’s about keeping data safe while giving people more power over who can process their personal data and why. 

You understand the importance of these objectives, especially if you’re trying to gain customer trust and grow your business.

In this overview for beginners, we’ve broken down GDPR’s privacy regulations into clear-cut fundamentals so you can quickly and easily understand whether you need to be compliant. 

You’ll learn the essentials of the EU’s data protection law, how it applies to your business and customers, who enforces it, and the consequences of non-compliance.