A Dawn of a New day in EU Data Protection

Abstract

After four years in the making, on 27 April 2016, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted and introduced The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), also known as Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The GDPR entered into force on 24 May 2016, and will apply to all EU states as of 25 May 2018, repealing Directive 95/46/EC regarding data security and the processing of personal data. The need for a new legislative framework to address the issue of data security has long been in existence. The current directive was adopted more than two decades ago, and as such could not catch up with the new challenges involved in the protection of personal data emanating from the rapid technological developments and globalization.