DanCham Thailand warns of new EU data law: GDPR now into force

I you have subscribed to any service hosted within the EU, you may have noticed the wave of “updated privacy policy” mails in your inbox the last week or so.

And though it may seem like the entire world just began caring about their customer’s data and privacy voluntary, that is not the case. Quite the opposite actually; today, the long-waited General Data Protecion Regulation (GDPR) enrolls over Europe and the world.

The GDPR threats of fines of up to 4% of the yearly global turnover or $US18,5 million for companies neglecting to take care of their customer’s data or sufficiently informing them about the use of it.

On the occasion, the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce has issued an urgent announcement warning their members of ignoring GDPR on the basis of it being a European law:

“Companies may not have any direct relationship with Europe and still be subject to the new laws — for example if they support businesses that have customers inside the EU. Companies may not have any direct relationship with Europe and still be subject to the new laws — for example if they support businesses that have customers inside the EU. A call center handling customer services for companies that sell products in Europe or a website tracking browsing histories will be impacted,” the chamber writes in an email to its members.

And this is not a exaggeration: If a company hires services within the EU, it is that companies job to make sure that the GDPR is being followed. Otherwise the potentially SE Asia-based company can be subject to fines as well.

Naturally it will take some time before the fines will be subjected and precedent has been formed, but there’s not longer any excuse to not take the GDPR into account and understanding whether your company is following the new standards.

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