Mark Zuckerberg traded in his T-shirt and jeans for a suit and tie to address Congress recently about data privacy. As in, your data privacy. My data privacy. Sounds scary when we personalize it, doesn’t it?

The process of tracking and monitoring, analyzing and predicting behavior is a big bonus in the marketing world. It saves time and money for businesses and nonprofits. It saves time and frustration from overstuffed consumer mailboxes, both snail and electronic.

The famous face of Facebook trended with #Zuckerberg and #GDPR (a.k.a. General Data Protection Regulation) and promised to take a more European approach. GDPR is a new regulation to strengthen data protection for citizens of the European Union going into effect May 25, 2018.

So, what does GDPR mean for our future as Americans?

Zuckerberg’s troubles came about after Cambridge Analytica overstepped privacy boundaries — mining data on our ages, marital statuses and more.

But will the United States enforce the European standard nationwide as a result? It’s too early to tell, but we should all be prepared, especially if you have clients who reside in the European Union. If you offer goods or services to clients in the European Union, the GDPR will affect the way you do business as of May.

Companies and nonprofits who collect data are all in the hot seat, and we can certainly expect some form of change coming soon. Both on the internet giants’ sides and the costumers’ sides, who are sure to pro-actively push the privacy button for fear of the unknown.

If you need more information on GDPR, visit the official regulation website at https://www.eugdpr.org/eugdpr.org.html. If you need more information about managing customer data, contact Point Taken today.

Point Taken Communications is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based company specializing in public relations, marketing and web design for corporations, medium-sized businesses, small businesses, firms and nonprofit agencies across the country. We increase the return on your investment by managing your brand and messaging across all channels to ensure clarity and consistency. We are a full-service agency built to help businesses and nonprofits promote their products, services and mission to drive more dollars and donations. At Point Taken, you only work with senior-level professionals with a wealth of marketing, PR and web design knowledge who can maximize your budget, guide your marketing efforts and get the job done right the first time.