The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a European law establishing protections for the personal data of EU residents that came into force on May 25, 2018. Under the GDPR, organizations that collect, maintain, use, or otherwise process EU residents’ personal data (regardless of the organization’s location) must implement certain privacy and security safeguards for that data. STUK has established a comprehensive GDPR compliance program and is committed to partnering with its customers and vendors on GDPR compliance efforts. Some significant steps STUK has taken to align its practices with the GDPR include:
- Revisions to our policies and contracts with our partners, vendors, and users
- Enhancements to our security practices and procedures
- Closely reviewing and mapping the data we collect, use, and share
- Creating more robust internal privacy and security documentation
- Training employees on GDPR requirements and privacy/security best practices generally
- Carefully evaluating and building a data subject rights’ policy and response process Below, we provide additional details about the core areas of STUK’s GDPR compliance program and how customers can use STUK to support their own GDPR compliance initiatives.
Data Processing Agreements
Under the GDPR, “data controllers” (i.e. entities that determine the purposes and means of processing data) are required to enter into agreements with other entities that process data on their behalf (called “data processors”). STUK offers its customers who are controllers of EU personal data the option to enter into a robust data processing agreement under which STUK commits to process and safeguard personal data in accordance with GDPR requirements. This includes STUK’s commitment to process personal data consistent with the instructions of the data controller.
International Data Transfers
As with prior EU data protection laws, the GDPR requires organizations to use a recognized legal mechanism to transfer data from the EU to other countries that do not have a similar data protection framework, including the United States. To comply with this requirement, STUK is certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield framework, which requires it to maintain certain safeguards for personal data transferred to the United States. Additionally, STUK offers customers who are data controllers of EU personal data the option to enter into EU Model Contractual Clauses with us upon request.
Data Access, Management, and Portability Tools
The GDPR gives individual data subjects in certain circumstances the rights to, among other things, access, delete, and make corrections to their data. STUK is committed to facilitating data subject requests consistent with the GDPR, as further described in our Privacy Policy.
Privacy Documentation
At its core, the GDPR is focused on transparency, fairness, and accountability. Accordingly, the law requires organizations to maintain documentation about their privacy practices and their decisions about how they handle individuals’ personal data. STUK shares the GDPR’s commitment to these principles, and has included within its ongoing GDPR compliance program documentation about its data collection and processing activities, and the various policies and guidelines it follows pursuant to the GDPR. You can learn more about how STUK collects, uses, and discloses personal data by visiting STUK’s Privacy Policy.
Data Security
The GDPR requires organizations to use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal data. Security continues to be a priority for STUK: we are now SOC 2 Type 1 certified and have implemented a variety of safeguards to protect the security of our platform, including encrypting web connections to protect data transmissions, replicating our databases to support reliability of the platform, and controlling access to our facilities and office network. STUK also offers customers the ability to use additional security controls to further enhance the security of their teams’ data.
Ongoing Compliance and Communication
The GDPR’s requirements are comprehensive, but the law and regulatory guidance will evolve. As data protection authorities in Europe interpret the GDPR’s requirements and issue guidance, we will continue to follow these developments closely and evaluate our program for any changes or enhancements as needed. We value communication with our customers. If you have any questions about our GDPR compliance efforts, or if you are a data controller customer with questions about how we can help support your own GDPR compliance efforts, please contact us at [email protected].