For those of you who are unaware, GDPR is replacing the Data Protection Act 1998, as enacted by EU legislation. It will cover all publishers in EU countries as well as publishers who deal with the EU. As a UK-based blogger using Google Blogger, I and many other people come under that heading. To date, Google has sent out a bunch of emails explaining in broad terms to publishers what the change of legislation means and what they are doing to comply with it. They also explain how individual publishers can take steps to comply, but in terms of guidlines for those using Blogger, the advice has been at best vague and at worst non-existent.
I have searched far and wide to find any statement from Google as to how bloggers using their platform can comply with GDPR. The best I have found so far has been a discussion on a Google Products forum where several bloggers are questioning how Google will help them prepare for when the legislation kicks in on May 25th 2018. Google's response so far has been to issue generic statements asserting their commitment to preparing for GDPR and suggesting that we read their privacy policy or consult a lawyer to find out our obligations. Far from reassuring advice.
So far I've constructed a privacy policy for use on this blog, but an unsure if it will meet with GDPR requirements. Really, this is a call for clarity more than anything else. If anyone out there is reading this post and works for Google, please let me and other bloggers know how we can make our blogs GDPR compliant and how Google will assist us in this. Hopefully making a privacy policy will go some way to achieving this, but unless Google gives us a clearer view of what to do, we may run the risk getting caught out by the new legislation. We need to process people's personal data responsibly and within the law, but if we don't know the rules of play then things will get quite complicated.
I appreciate this is not the usual kind of thing I cover on this blog, but with the deadline for GDPR fast approaching, I think it's something worth talking about. If anyone out there is also confused by what the regulations mean for them, be sure to get in touch with Google to make your concerns known. Thankfully, I've got more fun stuff coming up, so stay tuned and I'll see you all again soon with more poetry.
I have searched far and wide to find any statement from Google as to how bloggers using their platform can comply with GDPR. The best I have found so far has been a discussion on a Google Products forum where several bloggers are questioning how Google will help them prepare for when the legislation kicks in on May 25th 2018. Google's response so far has been to issue generic statements asserting their commitment to preparing for GDPR and suggesting that we read their privacy policy or consult a lawyer to find out our obligations. Far from reassuring advice.
So far I've constructed a privacy policy for use on this blog, but an unsure if it will meet with GDPR requirements. Really, this is a call for clarity more than anything else. If anyone out there is reading this post and works for Google, please let me and other bloggers know how we can make our blogs GDPR compliant and how Google will assist us in this. Hopefully making a privacy policy will go some way to achieving this, but unless Google gives us a clearer view of what to do, we may run the risk getting caught out by the new legislation. We need to process people's personal data responsibly and within the law, but if we don't know the rules of play then things will get quite complicated.
I appreciate this is not the usual kind of thing I cover on this blog, but with the deadline for GDPR fast approaching, I think it's something worth talking about. If anyone out there is also confused by what the regulations mean for them, be sure to get in touch with Google to make your concerns known. Thankfully, I've got more fun stuff coming up, so stay tuned and I'll see you all again soon with more poetry.
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