The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation setting guidelines for the collection and processing of users’ personal information, and a content management system (CMS) often participates in this data collection.
The goal of GDPR is to give individuals greater control over their personal data, and also to simplify the regulations for international businesses. For any business operating operating a website and CMS, the most important points to understand regarding GDPR are generally as follows:
- Consent: Businesses must first obtain users' consent before storing and processing their personal data, which explains the ubiquitous “I Accept” overlays on websites.
- Data minimization: The data collected by your business should be only what you need (e.g., don’t collect home addresses on an email newsletter signup form).
- Data breach notifications: If your business experiences a data breach, you have 72 hours to notify regulators and possibly affected users.
- Data transfer: GDPR also governs the transfer of personal data outside of the EU.
Non-compliance with GDPR can be costly. For example, in May 2023, Meta was hit with a record $1.3 billion fine for transferring user data from Europe to the United States, where looser regulations exposed that information to potential snooping. A few months later, TikTok was fined $372 million for its mishandling of childrens’ user data. While the size of these tech giants certainly brings them increased regulatory scrutiny, every business has a responsibility to operate in compliance with GDPR policy – no matter their size.
Introduction: CMS and data privacy regulations
Before GDPR, the EU’s data protection laws were considered the gold standard—but the Internet grew and changed rapidly after those policies were first introduced in 1995. Because of that growth, the policy left critical gaps in addressing how data should be stored, collected, and transferred. GDPR was introduced in 2016, and went into effect in 2018, to address those gaps.
GDPR ushered in an age of more sensitive handling of user data. It forces businesses to think more strategically about the data collected from users, and also adds controls around how that information is stored. Most important, it gives users more control over their personal information—now we have the choice of clicking “I Consent” or “Do not sell my personal data” on just about every website we visit.
Following GDPR’s enactment, several U.S. states introduced their own data privacy measures. This includes the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA). Regardless of what state your business operates, you should review your data collection approaches with a legal expert to ensure compliance with all local and international policies—the GDPR provides a framework, but it is up to each business to interpret and apply it accordingly.
Note that, even if you don’t have a physical location in the EU, as long as you’re offering goods or services to residents there, you fall under the auspices of GDPR policies.
In summary: GDPR FAQs
What is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?
How does GDPR impact content management systems?
What are the key responsibilities of a data controller under GDPR?
What is the role of a data processor in GDPR compliance?
What does GDPR say about data breaches?
What are the penalties for non-compliance with GDPR?
How can a CMS help maintain GDPR compliance?
Key features of GDPR-compliant CMS
When it comes to GDPR and CMS, the policy sets out responsibilities for data controllers and data processors; it’s helpful to understand those in context, as it sheds light on where the CMS’ responsibility lies.
- Data controllers determine the purposes and means of processing personal data, including what will be collected and used and how long it will be retained. They also have the primary responsibility for ensuring GDPR compliance. This includes obtaining consent, providing transparency, enabling users to exercise their rights (e.g., get rid of my data please and thank you), and communicating any breaches to regulators and users.
- Data processors are any person or business that processes data on behalf of a data controller.
What this typically means in practice is that your CMS will process at least some of the collected data. This happens when the CMS presents users with content, and users in turn provide personal data—often by taking actions like filling out a form or leaving a comment. The CMS processes that data on behalf of the data controller, who holds the ultimate responsibility to ensure GDPR compliance. Brightspot CMS typically acts as a data processor, with its customers serving as the data controllers; your mileage will vary here depending on your CMS.
Best practices for maintaining compliance in CMS
The cost of non-compliance with GDPR policies can be high, as evidenced by the fines already levied against companies like Meta, TikTok, Amazon and Google.
While most businesses won’t draw as much regulatory scrutiny as those tech giants, there are simple, obvious steps businesses can take to comply with the GDPR regulations.
Here are some best practices for maintaining GDPR compliance with your CMS. Before taking any action, it’s important to understand what GDPR requires and how it applies to your business. Unless you intend on familiarizing yourself with the entirety of the law (it’s 261 pages long, by the way), reviewing your digital strategy through the lens of the EU policy is a must.
Conclusion: Staying compliant in the digital age
In today’s interconnected age, data flows like never before. And the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) marked a pivotal shift in how digital businesses must approach user privacy. GDPR has made the ethical handling and transmission of that data more important than ever; it compels businesses to reevaluate their approach to handling sensitive information. And that’s for the good of users everywhere.
Beyond mere legal obligations, GDPR represents a commitment to fostering trust and transparency in the digital ecosystem. As businesses navigate the complexities of compliance, embracing simple best practices becomes more important than ever before. If your business prioritizes security measures, remains vigilant with system updates and cultivates a culture of accountability with your CMS users, you can both mitigate risks and rest easily, knowing your handling user data with high integrity. In this dynamic environment, where technology intersects with regulation, GDPR compliance isn't something you can cross off your to-do list once and be done with—it's a continuous evolution.