Feb 9th, 2018
GDPR: Update
By Becca McCarthy
There’s a new law coming in that will protect us from big business selling off our personal information or contacting us when we don’t want them to. [1] It’s called the General Data Protection Regulation. It might sound boring, but it’s a good law that’ll keep our personal info safe online.
But it doesn’t just apply to corporations. It applies to 38 Degrees too. And I’ve been tasked with making sure 38 Degrees doesn’t break the law.
I’ve got it all planned out – I’ve got spreadsheets, I’ve got to-do lists, I’ve colour-coded everything. I know what needs to happen. But I also know that for an organisation like ours, without big legal departments, it’s going to be costly. We need top legal advice, state-of-the-art new tech, and staff on call to help get it all ready in time.
As 38 Degrees-ers, together we’ve run and won campaigns to protect our personal data, so we know how important it is to get this right. [2] Can you chip in whatever you can afford to help fund legal advice, new tech, and the staff to make this happen?
38 Degrees is a small, lean organisation. We don’t have big funders or sponsors, a legal department or a big team of tech people like Google or Facebook to help with this. We’re funded by people like you, making small donations. We’re a small team, and there’s a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.
So I’m going to need expert help and advice to get it right. I’m speaking to legal experts and top tech developers. But the real power of 38 Degrees doesn’t come from experts – it comes from you and thousands of other people working together as a team. I can’t do this on my own, so please will you help me?
NOTES:
[1] Business Matters: The GDPR & its impact on businesses in the UK:
http://www.bmmagazine.co.uk/in-business/gdpr-impact-businesses-uk/
[2] 38 Degrees: Snooper’s charter:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/01/16/snoopers-charter/
38 Degrees: Why big business won’t be seeing your health records this summer:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2016/07/07/big-business-wont-seeing-health-records-summer/
[3] 38 Degrees: Privacy policy:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/privacy-policy-22-12-17/
