A reliable VoIP service provider is expected to stay up to date with all the latest regulations in the VoIP market. The implementation of GDPR is expected to bring about some changes to the industry. Knowing the impact of GDPR in today’s VoIP market is a must to continue delivering quality services without breaking any rules.

What is GDPR?

The GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation went into effect last May 25, 2018. The new legislation is the replacement for the 1995 Data Protection Act or DPA. Its goal is to unify separate national legislations of EU into a single EU law.

This legislation is going to be applicable to every business which handles any data of EU nationals no matter where they might be in the world. As long as the United Kingdom remains part of the EU, businesses in the UK will be subject to the rules of GDPR. The moment the Brexit reached its end and the UK will no longer be part of the EU, the business will only need to follow the rules of the GDPR when they are serving clients that are part of the EU.

What are the Changes?

As far as data protection is concerned, the present legislation aims to create a balance between the rights of companies and individuals. The new rules of GDPR give individuals with more power, letting them have a better control on how their personal details are collected, used, and recorded. GDPR can also increase penalties for those companies that don’t abide its rules.

The key changes of GDPR include:

• Changes in the notification process of data breach.
• Gives more rights to individual like the right of controlling how their personal details are being processed, requesting the delete of their data, requesting electronic copies, or transferring data to a different company.
• Companies must include procedures of data protection from the start of their system design instead of being a mere addition.
• Companies are required to appoint officers for data protection when they are organizations engaging in large scale monitoring of systems, public authorities, or organizations engaging in large scale sensitive personal data processing.

What GDPR Means to VoIP Users?

Since every VoIP service provider offers features of call recording, a company that wishes to continue recording the calls of their clients is required to provide legal justification that explains why they record personal data. This must fall under any of these six conditions:

• Recording is needed for fulfilling the contractual obligations to the client.
• The caller has positively and clearly given their consent to be recorded.
• Recording is a must for exercising an official authority.
• Recording is considered legal obligation in specific situations.
• Recording is imperative for protecting the life or interest of the client.
• The company got a legitimate interest in the recording and they are using the personal data as expected by the client and without a lot of effect on their privacy.

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Sip Systems is your reliable VoIP service provider that adheres to GDPR and all the changes it entails. Check out Sip Systems Blog to learn more about our VoIP services.