2018 – a milestone for data privacy

Yasmeen Rahman, Group Data Protection Officer, Informa Group, London

Data privacy was all over the news in 2018. The public, governments and businesses have sent clear signals that more needs to be done to protect personal data. A significant step forward in Europe, and it was indeed a landmark for data protection, came with the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May. Data is part of everything we do at Informa, and over the last two years we’ve significantly ramped up our investment in systems, processes and expertise to keep customer, colleague and partner data secure. GDPR introduced a range of compliance and policy implications for companies like ours, and I became part of the Group Compliance team working along side newly established Privacy Managers in all the Divisions to develop our response. In particular, my role was to lead Informa’s GDPR programme, providing support and guidance right across the business.

• This programme has enabled us to do the following:
• Enhance our handling of customer and client personal data in a compliant way.
• Improve how we communicate with customers to help them understand how we use their information, and how we keep it safe.
• Educate and train colleagues in all global locations on “Privacy at Work” – web-based training and in-person sessions to underline the importance of respect for people’s personal information.
• Maintain a culture of privacy in the workplace, as well as establish new standards for our supply chain to ensure our partners also understand their obligations on data privacy.

In 2019, our team will continue to build on the strong foundations laid by the GDPR programme with a global privacy frame work and strategy. I’m confident that we’re in a good position to navigate the increasing number of data protection and cyber regulations being introduced around the world.