One in four businesses are still unprepared for GDPR, says DMA

Research by the Direct Marketing Association reveals that 26% of marketers believe their companies are still unprepared for the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The second edition of the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) 'GDPR and you' series of studies into the industry's awareness and preparedness for the GDPR also found that: 56% of marketers feel prepared for GDPR 5% believed it was not their responsibility 68% said their business would be compliant in time for the GDPR's full implementation in 2018   The level of preparedness has risen from 49% in June 2016 to 71% now and of 'good' awareness from 53% to 66% over the same period. However, the DMA argues that their is "still a clear need for urgency" for marketers to address achieving compliance. Challenges to marketers The research, which did not examine charity sector-specific attitudes, asked marketers what their biggest concerns were under GDPR. The top three concerns of those who responded were:  consent (70%) legacy data (50%) profiling (37%) Consequently the top priorities for the marketers' businesses were: conducting impact assessments (42%) giving data subjects greater control of their data (36%) revising data policy (31%) auditing data privacy policy (30%)   Chris Combemale, CEO of the DMA group, commented on the findings, saying: “May 2018 should be a date that is in every marketer’s diary, giving us around 16 months before the GDPR comes into force. It is concerning that only half of our industry feels their businesses are prepared for the new rules and not that many more believe they will be ready in time. "The finish line for GDPR readiness is fixed and the risk to businesses of not being compliant is significant. Our advice is to continue preparations in earnest over the coming year. Not making it across the line in time is not an option.” Impact of Brexit Negotiations to leave the European Union are not going to affect the implementation of GDPR in the UK, and most companies surveyed recognised that: 83% of have not changed their plans to implement GDPR-related changes, and 7% have even accelerated these preparations. Asked what would be the best data protection policy for the UK post-Brexit, almost three quarters (74%) believe that UK law should simply match GDPR anyway. Data Protection Conference The DMA will be hosting its Data Protection 2017 conference on 24 February. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, fresh from addressing the Fundraising and Regulatory Compliance Conference on Tuesday, will address the audience on the future for the UK’s data-driven creative industries.   Image: padlocks by Brian A Jackson on Shutterstock.com    

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