Affiliates & EU GDPR
Since the incidences of Cambridge Analytical using Facebook data for purposes other than those allowed by such individuals, there's a greater need to protect people's data usage.
Come May 25, 2018, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) will come into force protecting people's rights on their personal information, the way it is collected, handled and used. There will be a heavy penalty on those who do not comply.
We all know affiliates rely highly on email marketing strategy, the main purpose of which is to drive traffic for ultimate conversion. Affiliates need therefore to understand the terms of GDPR to avoid huge levy and or penalty. This need is necessary if you trade with anyone in EU, your company need not be situated in EU (transborder flow of personal data).
Affiliates are connected in the way we collect names, email addresses, IP addresses, posts shared on social media platforms, cookies on websites and web analytics. These data might look innocent enough, but powerful to build up users' profiles and or identity, gaining access to users' social media profiles (if you use social media comment plugin for instance), installation of affiliates tracking codes or cookies.
However seeking and getting consent is a powerful compliance for affiliates. Consent is obtained via an opt-in confirmation box, such as when subscribing to websites newsletters. For compliance to be effective it should be easy to unsubscribe or opt out, and close accounts. For those that opt out, FURTHER USE OF THEIR DATA SHOULD THEN CEASE.
There's a whole list of compliance that affiliates need to familiarise ourselves with, check it out here:
Recent Comments
14
A HUGE thank you Lanu!!!
I've been trying to find something on the GDPR that applies to us as affiliates, so thanks a ton for providing this link! Maybe now I can understand what I need to actually do to comply.
Kyra-Lynn
Actually, I may have jumped the gun there, the site you posted is just as confusing as the GDPR itself, giving me no real answers and wants me to pay for their resources for further information! I don't think that this should cost any of us anything to understand or come to compliance with!
I've tried asking Jay about it but got no answer at all to my questions, I think I'll try Kyle and maybe do a blog post on my frustration over all this.
Sorry Lanu, but that link didn't provide me with enough understanding like I thought it would. I need to understand what to DO to become compliant and nobody's blogs have answered that yet. Like how on earth I get this opt-in opt-out option onto my site? or how I specifically delete just one person out of all the analytics data that I don't even understand how to interpret yet...so much confusion.
Thanks for trying to help though.
Kyra-Lynn
Sorry Kara-Lynn, try this simpler site which explain it better:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-the-gdpr/
Oh wow, a lot to take in. It is definitely necessary to read and understand the small print to cover our backs. Thanks for sharing
Wow, thank you for your post Elijah.
This is definitely something we should read and understand.
I am not expereinced in this field, but seems to me that mostly big companies would have to worry about this kind of regulations.
Maybe i am wrong but i would love to hear some people from this field of expertise.
Strahinja
Not necessarily big companies my dear. As an affiliate, you are liable as long as you collect and trade with anyone in EU, which is likely as you business is international (ONLINE). Your sales/conversion can come from any of the EU countries my dear.
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Thanks for the post Lanu,
I've been reading on the GDPR over the last little while, your post has been helpful.
Best regards,
George
Thank you. We need to just adjust our opt-in wording, and to reassure our customers that their data is safe with us.