Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been compared to Y2K, the millennium software bug that caused unnecessary panic about computers crashing—not to mention planes falling out of the sky—before midnight struck on New Year’s Eve in the year 2000. But it’s not much like Y2K at all; conversely, it deserves all the buzz it’s garnering.

When the legislation takes effect on May 25, it will enable European consumers to control how businesses collect and process their personal information. GDPR will impact any organization that markets goods or services in the EU or tracks Europeans’ digital behavior, regardless of where such businesses’ offices or software firms are located. 

Additionally, there are a host of unknowns that will impact domain registrants, domain owners and hosting companies as to how the law will be applied. Experts expect significant issues with any processes related to DNS records such as domain transfers as there is no concensus as to how GDPR will

Understand that if you do business online, the GDPR may apply to you. This new data-protection law applies to any size business - even if you have no direct E.U. operations or staff.
Similar personal data protection legislation is being developed here in the United States.

Responsible data management is about protecting your brand and your business. Every day we see new headlines about a data-breach or personal data sharing due to incompetence or unethical behavior – think Facebook & Cambridge Analytica. Enforceable data-protection laws with significant penalties for violators are necessary and should be embraced by businesses.

So, what is the GDPR? The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new law designed to protect the “personal data” of E.U. citizens – including how the data is collected, stored, processed and destroyed. This E.U. law goes into effect on May 25th, 2018. The definition of ‘personal data’ under the GDPR far exceeds that of the U.S. and encompasses ‘information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person’. This includes data such as name, ID number, location data, online identifier or other factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that person. It even includes IP addresses, cookie strings, social media posts, online contacts and mobile device IDs.
Obviously GDPR impacts U.S.-based multi-national companies. If you are a US-based company with no direct operations in the EU it likely applies to your business too.

Territorial Scope
US-based businesses with no employees or offices within the boundaries of the EU are subject to GDPR. And, under Article 3 of the GDPR, your business can be liable even if no financial transaction occurs. If your U.S. based organization communicates with and/or solicits members online with some of them residing in the E.U., you are likely subject to the GDPR.  However, if your organization operates online or uses Google Adwords and an E.U. resident stumbles upon your webpage, it is unlikely that the GDPR applies. Simply put, if your organization actively fosters relationships with E.U. residents, GDPR applies.

Consequences of Non-Compliance
The GDPR imposes significant fines for companies that fail to comply. Non-compliance penalties and fines can be 2-to-4% of a company’s global revenue.  The forth-coming U.S. legislation promises to be just as potent.
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Protect your organization from becoming a headline. If you market online, it is vital that you initiate risk assessment and initiate an action plan now.
 
 
Prepared by Chris Lowers, May 10th 2018

Without realizing it, you're fluent in the language of pictures. Illustrator Christoph Niemann takes you on a hilarious visual tour that shows how artists tap into our emotions and minds to speak volumes without saying a word.
Niemann believes all people are bilingual, “fluent in the language of reading images,” and most of our fluency comes organically. Enjoy his talk recorded at TED2018 on April 13, 2018, in Vancouver.

Why You Should Listen
Christoph Niemann is the master of the deceptively simple. His work - which often combines line drawing or brushwork with physical objects, or eschews drawing altogether in favor of LEGO - has appeared on the covers of the New Yorker, WIRED and the New York Times Magazine and has won many awards. He has drawn live from the Venice Art Biennale and the Olympic Games in London, and he has sketched the New York City Marathon - while running it. He created the New Yorker's first augmented reality cover as well as a hand-drawn 360-degree VR animation for the magazine's US Open issue.