How did it go again? The Scoville value depends on the proportion of capsaicin, an alkaloid contained in dried fruit, which irritates pain receptors in the mucous membranes and thus triggers the sensation of hotness. So how much HOT CHILI can will you have? Because in 2020, violations of the GDPR will be sanctioned in a way that will burn! And that could be costly for you.
German companies thought they were already on Christmas vacation in 2019, but the Republic’s top data protection officer took the cudgel out of the bag: a fine of 9.6 million euros was imposed on the wireless services and fixed network group 1&1 Drillisch – hot and spicy. A fine at the top end of the Scoville scale, you think? Sorry to disappoint you there. There’s in fact more to it! But what was the actual reason behind this? The company did not protect itself sufficiently in regards of denying third parties access to personal customer data. The Federal Data Protection Commissioner took this as a systematic violation. So it’s that simple? Unfortunately, yes.
Under the new current regulations, infringements are now subject to much higher sanctions. Under the old Federal Data Protection Act, a maximum fine of 300,000 EUR was possible. Now, up to 20 million EUR or up to four percent of the annual turnover achieved worldwide may be due. This would mean a solid fine of six billion EUR for companies such as Amazon; at Apple, we are already talking about as much as up to eight billion EUR. This level of hotness will surely bring your palate to an explosive cry of outrage.
A survey among the data protection officers of the federal states on the subject of the GDPR showed that in 2019, a total of 187 fines were issued. What a drastic increase compared to the previous year! In 2018, the supervisory authorities had imposed only 40 fines. And it is not going to stop there. We can definitely be curious to see what else is in store for us. This is why it is now time to act rather than react – and quickly so, at lightning speed if possible.
I’ve got a tip for you: drop by on April 2, 2020 at our PROMATIS Business Dialogue on GDPR. In a 30-minute interactive live webinar, you will be able to ask specific questions and directly put your knowledge into practice. No more worries about a scorched palate or an empty wallet!
Author: Marion Rosemann
Image: © pixabay