Although compliance with GDPR is a demanding job, non-compliance may cost you up to 20 million euros.

So, you have no choice whether to stay compliant or not. If you process data of EU or EEA residents, you will have to meet the General Data Protection Regulation requirements.

Address validation tools can make compliance easier. Automated address checkups bring additional security into data processing and help you verify the identity of data subjects. Since such software runs validation in real-time, entitled users can instantly access their personal data upon request, which is essential under GDPR.

To find out more about how to get compliant with GDPR by using address validation and other approaches, read the article on:

• How to get compliant with GDPR: Compliance for GDPR fundamentals
• How address validation tools simplify GDPR compliance
• Compliance for GDPR with Inkit’s address validation tool

How to Get Compliant with GDPR: Compliance for GDPR Fundamentals

The General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is the regulation that ensures data security of people living in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). This data protection law gives users advanced control over their personal information and unifies the legal requirements for data processing activities.

If you are an organization or business that deals with data of EU citizens, keep in mind the following limitations:

1. You may need to ensure compliance for GDPR even if you aren’t located in the EU or EEA. GDPR has an extra-territorial effect, which means that anyone who processes EU citizens’ data must comply with its provisions. For example, if you are an EU-based business that uses servers outside the EU, you may fall within the scope of the data protection law. If you aren’t located in the EU but process the personal data of EU citizens to provide services, you are also subject to GDPR.
2. You may need to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to achieve compliance for GDPR. Any public authority, business performing large scale regular monitoring of individuals or a company that processes special categories of personal data or information related to criminal convictions must have a DPO. Even though not all data controllers and processors are required to appoint a DPO, having a DPO will improve security monitoring. DPOs cooperate with the organization’s supervisory authority and provide recommendations regarding complying with GDPR.
3. You must receive valid consent from every individual whose data you process. Anytime you intend to do something with personal information, you must inform the related person about your actions. The notice must be clear and unambiguous. The data subject must also be able to withdraw the consent at any time, and it must be easy to do this.
4. You must ensure all rights for data subjects. GDPR grants EU citizens a range of data related rights that can be summarized as follows:

• the right to information
• the right to access
• the right to rectification
• the right to erasure
• the right to restriction of processing
• the right to data portability
• the right to object
• the right to avoid automated decision-making

Simply put, you need to ensure the maximum transparency of data processing and enable data subjects to manage their personal information freely.

5. You must send data breach notifications within 72 hours after becoming aware of the breach. If the breach doesn’t infringe individuals’ rights, you may only notify the Data Protection Authority (DPA) to ensure compliance with GDPR. When the personal information of data subjects is compromised (e.g., usernames and passwords), you will also have to inform them.

These are the main takeaways from the General Data Protection Regulation. For more detailed information, check the full text of the law.

Although compliance will require a lot of effort, it should be more comfortable with data processing automation tools. Address validation tools are among the software types you will benefit from. Read on to discover how to get compliant with GDPR by using address verification.

How Address Validation Tools Simplify GDPR Compliance

People are often asked to provide their street address with other types of personal data. Physical and billing addresses allow businesses to automatically run AVS checks during the checkout, verify customers’ identity, and increase the overall security. All these procedures are essential for ensuring compliance with GDPR.

Address validation tools can automate GDPR-related processes. You just need to integrate the right tool to get address validation and GDPR compliance at once. Here’s why address validation tools are so useful for regulatory compliance.

Address validation tools guarantee managed access to personal data

Since the processing of personal data happens automatically, third-party access to information is limited. An address validation tool automatically connects to your database and matches the records with USPS databases for verification.

As a result, businesses can provide access only to the people entitled to use the information or data subjects. Such data management is essential to maintain compliance.

Address validation tools reduce the risk of fraud and data breaches

Although email and password are the main types of data used for user verification, businesses must check other identifiers in case of doubt. If your company collects physical addresses from customers, this information may be helpful to run identity verification.

Identity verification will help you protect the stored data and prevent data breaches. As we have already mentioned, the punishment for data breaches under GDPR is a serious deal. If you are an unlucky one, you could end up paying up to 20 million euros or 4% of your annual turnover.

Automated address validation allows you to deal with data requests more effectively

To ensure compliance with GDPR, you will need to support Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). It’s a mechanism that fulfills data subjects’ right to access their personal information and get an explanation of how it is used.

GDPR requires businesses to deal with such requests as soon as possible. Address validation tools that automatically verify addresses speed up DSAR processing through automated identity verification. Thanks to this, you can promptly reply to data subjects and keep complying with GDPR.

Accurate addresses help to send notifications in case of a breach

You must do everything to avoid data breaches. Still, you should prepare to mitigate the consequences if they happen.

Therefore, it’s essential to have a reliable database of customer contact details. When names, surnames, address information, and other details are verified, you can contact the victims of a data breach within 72 hours to meet GDPR requirements.

Compliance for GDPR with Inkit’s Address Validation Tool

Inkit is a reach enablement platform designed for large and small businesses with GDPR compliance in mind. Its address validation tool securely processes and transmits personal information from your database.

Inkit address verification will allow you to run identity verification and standardize all customer records you store. Thanks to this, you will know what types of data you have and how your software processes them. This is critical to handle Data Subject Access Requests and explain processing activities to data subjects.

In addition to the address validation tool, Inkit’s platform automatically generates communications and delivers them online and offline. You will be able to instantly notify data subjects about security threats, privacy policy changes, and other critical updates.
Want to implement compliance for GDPR with Inkit? Contact our sales team to get the demo.