28 January: an important day for data protection, for everyone!
On the 28th of January, it is European Privacy Day again. A day created by the Council of Europe in 2007 to inform citizens of their rights when companies and governments use personal data. This day also aims to encourage organisations to better protect personal data. In short, a good European matter for all!
Privacy Day is celebrated on the same date each year: 28 January. This date marks the anniversary of the signing of Convention 108, the global treaty on data protection. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states that all European citizens have the right to the protection of their personal data.
European data protection legislation
In 2016, new rules were adopted for the protection of personal data in Europe. The General Data Protection Regulation strengthens the fundamental rights of citizens in Europe in this digital age. And it promotes trade by clarifying the rules around digital data. Thus, these joint agreements put an end to the differences in legislation at national level and prevented a lot of red tape.
There is no doubt that these laws and regulations are appreciated by European citizens. Studies have shown that more than 90% of Europeans believe that data protection should be the same throughout Europe, regardless of where data is processed.
ISO and NEN: our standard
Data security is an important issue in the messaging industry. Because of our ‘roots’ in the healthcare sector, Spryng has always been aware of the great sensitivity of personal data and we do everything we can to guarantee the privacy and protection of personal data for our clients. ISO 27001 is the worldwide standard for information security. And that is also our standard; Spryng holds this certification. In addition, we are the only provider in the Netherlands to have been awarded the NEN7510 specialisation. We thus comply with all relevant laws and regulations in the field of information and data security, including for the healthcare sector. Read more about our certifications here.
GDPR guidelines for SMS
The General Data Protection Regulation, by the way, does not say much about SMS messages. That is why we are giving you a brief overview of things to take care of before you start sending business SMS messages.
- The data storage and processing within your organization meets the GDPR guidelines;
- Contacts must have given you permission in advance to receive your messages (preferably via a double opt-in form*);
- Contacts are clearly informed in advance of when they will receive SMS messages from your organization;
- SMS messages always contain a clear sender;
- SMS messages with marketing purposes contain the possibility to unsubscribe to the SMS service.
* If contacts in your database have been customers of your company for a long time, a double opt-in is not necessary. It is advisable to use a double opt-in that gives explicit consent to new customers, but you do not need to ask your existing contacts to reconfirm their subscription or enrollment.
Attention to secure data handling
The protection of personal data plays an increasingly important role in our society. With the annual Privacy Day, data safety remains high on Spryng’s agenda as well. And as an SMS provider with ISO and NEN certificates, we are at the forefront of this. We do this not only to guarantee our continuity, but especially for the security of your data and that of your customers.
More information?
Do you want to know more about data protection, personal data and safe SMS sending? Contact us at: info@spryng.sg or 003120-7703005
