Brussels, 25 May 2018 – Today BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes the entry into force of the much-anticipated new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which is the most significant change to European Union (“EU”) privacy law in decades and replaces the 1995 Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC).

The GDPR is designed to harmonize data privacy laws across the EU, as part of its overarching goal to create a "digital single market", guarantee legal consistency across all Member States and increase the certainty and trust towards businesses.

“BSA has worked closely with the European Commission and other stakeholders to ensure the GDPR addresses privacy concerns without undermining innovation that can improve lives and create jobs” says Thomas Boué, Director General, Policy – EMEA.

With the introduction of robust requirements for data protection, security, and compliance, when collecting and analyzing data tied to EU citizens no matter where it is processed or stored, the GDPR has sparked deliberations concerning data protection and privacy the world over, both on government and industry level.

“While there is no universal approach to privacy, the GDPR is a compass for future privacy rules and an important step forward for clarifying and protecting individual privacy rights. It is important that the law works as intended, by successfully harmonizing data protection laws throughout the EU,” concludes Boué.