Eight Years In, GDPR Changed Everything
Security Boulevard, Tuesday, May 26th, 2026
The potential of GDPR has always been so much more than simply compliance - decade ago, when European regulators, government officials and business leaders began talking about stringent privacy legislation (and set off a mild panic), it was clear the impending law was an opportunity for organizations to marshal and understand their data and how it is used.
Now, eight years after GDPR went into effect, it is the 'global benchmark for responsible data governance' and has 'reshaped expectations around accountability, transparency, and consumer trust, and elevated privacy into a core component of digital business strategy rather than a compliance function,' says Susan Fletcher, global chief privacy officer and deputy general counsel at Precisely.