GDPR.....Fines!! Better to hear it from the IOC.
I have been astounded by the number of companies, mainly large household names who have been bombarding us with emails over the past few days leading up to GDPR asking us to respond to 'keep in touch' . Nothing like leaving it to the last minute, these companies are acting as if they have just learned about the new regulations which came into place on 25th May.
There is almost an atmosphere of mass hysteria with talk about huge fines.
The new guidelines are there to protect us, its not a way of the government making a quick buck.
Straight from the horse's mouth, the following quote is taken from an interview broadcast on the BBC on 19th May 2018, Nigel Houlden, Head of Technology Policy, UKs Data Protection Agency, Information Commissioner’s Office (IOC) The interview is around 13 mins into the programme.
"The ICO has always been pragmatic and the commission is always very much of the opinion that encouragement and education is the better way to go, we would much rather use the carrot than the stick. As for this talk of big fines, it’s nonsense. That’s not what the ICO is about, that’s not the way we want to work. Those types of sanctions will be for the most wilful, deliberate and continuous companies that flout the laws and regulations ".