GDPR STATISTICS FROM THE FIRST YEAR [INFOGRAPHIC]

The GDPR went into effect on May 25, 2018 and drastically affected how companies use and store their users’ data. As a piece of EU legislation, the GDPR was primarily created to protect users and their data.

After almost a year and a half since its implementation, what was the outcome? Is user data more secure? Are most companies GDPR compliant?

Let us examine some important numbers in the infographic below:

ENFORCEMENT

• 500,000 data protection officers employed

The data officers employed is 6x more than what was forecast in 2017. Just 3 years ago, there were only 13 DPO jobs posted for every million jobs. Even with this huge spike in DPO employment, only a little over half of European citizens know there is a public authority protecting their personal data rights.

COMPLIANCE

• 1 in 5 companies thought full compliance was impossible

The implementation of GDPR created a huge task for businesses to overcome. Many dumped any previous data they had as an easier alternative to becoming compliant. Others chose to stop serving EU citizens completely. These are really businesses only two options if they do not want to make their company compliant. However, many companies did put in the effort to become compliant and large UK companies spent over €900,000,000 collectively to prep for the GDPR.

RISKS/FINES

• €57,000,000 + in fines issued

This may seem like an extreme amount but it is actually lower than what was projected at the time of implementation. There may have been a grace period during the first year to allow companies to become compliant.

Read our full blog for more information on GDPR statistics from the first year, here.

Interested in learning even more? Join privacy professionals, compliance officers, and other industry experts at the 3rd Annual Privacy and Data Protection Summit. This edition will focus on the challenges GDPR has presented as well as discuss strategies for rebranding privacy compliance within your organization.

Download your free brochure today to see the full speaker line up and more!