How To Claim A GDPR Breach Compensation!

Lawlor PartnersGDPR Breach Compensation

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) heralded a new era where individuals have greater control over their personal data. In light of this, organizations are required to be clear about the type of personal information they process, how they use it and how data subjects can review the personal information and request for its alteration. Conversely, GDPR has paved the way for individuals to claim compensation in the event where an organization fails to meet GDPR data protection requirements. An individual qualifies for a GDPR data breach compensation when they are data breach victims and they suffer non-material damages like; loss of future wages, reputational damages, and distress that arises when an organization improperly or unlawfully processes personal information or fails to respond to data subject access request (DSAR).

How To Claim A GDPR Breach Compensation

Contact The ICO

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the United Kingdom’s data protection regulator and supervisory authority mandated to oversee GDPR compliance. Therefore, when an individual is unhappy about how the organization handles their personal data, they should file a formal complaint with the ICO. The ICO investigates the GDPR compliance issue and determines whether an organization adhere to the set data protection guidelines or not. However, the ICO is not authorized to award GDPR Breach Compensation. They are only mandated to discipline organizations that do not follow the laid out data protection practices. But, individuals can use the ICO investigation results to support a legal GDPR breach compensation in a small claims court. Note that, any investigation into an organization can be used as a basis for GDPR breach compensation claim.

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Making A Direct Claim

Though the ICO is effective and thorough with its investigations, they could take long before addressing your complaint because they have many complaints to investigate. If you do not have the patience to wait in line, it would be advisable to make the GDPR breach claim directly. However, without the ICO investigation results, your case may be weak and you would be less likely to receive a high or the set maximum compensation amount. Direct claims proceedings tend to be quick since they are mainly settled out of court.

Summary

GDPR was formulated and implemented with the understanding that data breaches occur and the biggest victims are mainly individuals whose data leaks. Organizations also suffer losses when data breaches occur but the greatest victims are individuals whose personal information leaks. This is because, their email addresses, bank account details, sensitive personal information, and passwords can lead to the dark web, populate spam lists or worse still, revealed to malicious hackers. To curb this menace, the GDPR was implemented to give individuals the power to claim data breach compensation and coerce organization to guarantee personal data security and safety.