Post by Joy Lim
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Through my research for JVI (Justice Ventures International), I have been learning a lot about data protection laws.
One of the data protection laws was the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The GDPR is a privacy and security law passed by the European Union.
This law imposes obligations onto organizations that target or collect data related to people in the European Union and gives harsh fines to those who violate the laws privacy and security standards.
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So what is Data Protection?
Data protection is lawful handling of data about a living person. The GDPR covers personal data, data that is related to a person, such as their email address, and data, when complied with other information from an NGO, that could identify a person.
An important aspect of data protection is consent.
In order to use someone’s data, that person must have given consent for an NGO to use their information. Consent must be specific and unambiguous, and data subjects can withdraw consent whenever they want. If someone does that, then the NGO must respect their decision.
Additionally, NGOs wanting to obtain data from children must get consent from their parent. There are six principles that NGOs must follow when processing personal data. First, processing must be done lawfully and in a transparent manner.
NGOs must have a lawful basis for processing someone’s personal data and must inform that person how that data will be used. Second, the data must be used for a specific purpose. The data must be used in the way the data subject has been informed of. Third, the data collection must be adequate, relevant, and not excessive.
NGOs must collect the minimum amount of data necessary. Fourth, personal data must be accurate. Fifth, the data must not be kept longer than is necessary. NGOs should delete personal data when the data is no longer required for its specific purpose. Lastly, NGOs must ensure that the data they have is secure.
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*This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Student Staff member. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.