General Data Protection Regulation
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data privacy and security law enacted by the European Union (EU) in 2018. It sets strict rules for how organizations collect, process, store, and protect personal data of individuals within the EU, regardless of where the organization is based. GDPR aims to give individuals control over their personal data and imposes significant penalties for non-compliance.
Developers should learn GDPR when building applications that handle personal data of EU residents, such as e-commerce sites, social media platforms, or healthcare apps, to ensure legal compliance and avoid fines up to 4% of global revenue. It's crucial for implementing privacy-by-design principles, data encryption, user consent mechanisms, and data breach notification procedures in software development.