Most businesses failing to comply with GDPR

Around 70% of businesses worldwide failed to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation of addressing requests from individuals to obtain a copy of their personal data within the one-month time limit, testing conducted by cloud data integration services provider Talend indicates.

The company filed and tracked personal data requests to 103 companies either based in or operating in Europe between June and September.

Responses were assessed based on their compliance with the GDPR’s Article 15, governing the right to access by the data subject, and Article 20, covering the right to data portability. Companies in industries including retail, media, technology, travel and finance and the public sector were tested for compliance.

Notably, companies based outside of the EU had greater compliance rates than companies from the region, at 50% compared to 35%.

There were also significant disparities in the response times between industries even among GDPR-compliant companies.

Of those responding within the time limit, 22% of companies, primarily streaming services, mobile banking and technology businesses, complied within one day. This indicates that digital service companies have taken a more proactive response to compliance.

“GDPR presents an opportunity to engage with customers and build loyalty. It’s vital for businesses in the digital era to have a 360-degree view of customers,” Telend Senior Director of Data Governance Products Jean-Michel Franco said.

“Businesses must ensure that data is consolidated and stored in a transparent and shareable way. What’s more, GDPR’s one-month time limit should be viewed as an absolute deadline rather than a target. Our research shows that it is possible for some brands to respond within a day, suggesting that these brands understand fast response times will help boost customer trust.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/au/alengo

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