With the GDPR, itsme^® helps me protect my personal details

For all our online activities, whether they are private, business-related or other, every exchange is based on one fundamental concept: trust. That is logical, because we can't see – and sometimes we don't even know – who we are dealing with!

In order to strengthen that trust among consumers, businesses and public authorities, the European Union has created a legal framework that defines and harmonises between European countries the regulations on the protection of user identification data, while giving electronic signatures a legal validity.

This initiative is based on two main elements: the European Regulation on electronic identification (eIDAS) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Both are already being applied by itsme^®.

The General Data Protection Regulation protects any information which may be considered as personal data or which may be used to determine my identity: name, photo, e-mail address, publication on social networks, medical information, IP address or bank details.

Thanks to the GDPR, each individual takes back control of his personal data and benefits from several rights:

• Right to access: I can access my personal data used by a business. If I request it, the business or the organisation responsible for processing the data is obliged to provide me with a copy of this data free of charge, and in an electronic format (Article 15);

• Right to be forgotten: On request, a business is bound to erase and stop using my personal data (Article 17),

• Right to data portability: I can obtain my personal data from one business and reuse it with another (Article 20).

These consumer rights entail several obligations for European businesses:

• Setting up measures to protect data;

• Warning the user of any violation of their data within 72 hours;

• Designating a data protection officer who will be responsible for securing the business's data.