Why UK businesses should not be storing private data in the U.S
Have you ever considered the possible risks of storing your customer data outside of the EU and therefore outside the protection of GDPR.
For those of you who aren’t aware of GDPR and who it applies to. The General Data Protection Regulation is the current law in place regarding how businesses store and use customer data inside the EU.
So you might be wondering, what happens if you are an EU citizen but storing data with business’ outside the EU in particular America.
Well in short, you are not protected in anyway by GDPR. If you give your data to an American company, they have no legal obligation to follow GDPR regulations.
This is because the EU and America have not come to an agreement on storing UK data inside the US.
Now, a lot of you are saying “well it’s fine because America have their own privacy shield agreement, this will protect me right?”
Well no it won’t...
As stated by privacy trust, The EU does not recognise Privacy shield as it does meet GDPR requirements for being an adequate protection law
Another point many of you are making is that you have seen many terms and conditions for US businesses where they have stated they are GDPR compliant.
However If you read the small print on these terms, many will state that they are GDPR compliant, because you are willingly placing your data outside of the EU, therefore waiving your rights to be protected by GDPR.
So what they are basically saying is we are GDPR compliant because you are willing to place your data in the US where they don’t need to follow an E.U law.
This point is further extended by the fact that there is effectively nothing you can do if a US business mis-uses your data, as you have agreed that your data is outside of GDPR and the fact it's practically impossible for a UK company to sue an American company.
So what are your alternatives. If you are a UK citizen I would highly recommend that you stick with a UK supplier. They will be GDPR complaint and much more accessible if you need to talk to someone on the phone.
And as note when you sign up, ask where your data is stored, to make sure that it is being stored inside the EU as any reputable supplier will be happy to share this information. Because when it comes to your customer data, it's not worth taking any risks.
If you are looking for an email marketing service where everything is stored right here in the UK. Then, at Email blaster we are happy to help.