GDPR five years later: More companies see benefits from the data protection law

A new study conducted by the analysis company Piwik PRO shows that business leaders across Europe are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of protecting individual privacy online. The results of the study were released today, in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and show that companies are seeing more and more benefits from complying with the legislation.
“The reluctance and skepticism towards GDPR is decreasing, while we see that companies are getting better at operating within the existing legislation and framework. In addition, companies are noticing more and more benefits from this, where an improved customer experience is a clear example. Something that is becoming increasingly important in the fierce competition that prevails,” says Piotr Korzeniowski, CEO of Piwik PRO. The survey, which is the second of its kind conducted by Piwik PRO, gathered responses from 300 market managers and CEOs from 30 European countries, including Sweden. The respondents come from medium and large companies operating in both B2B and B2C segments. An interesting insight from the study was that 70 percent of respondents now believe that the GDPR is easy to understand, and that almost 80 percent believe that it is important that the law exists, which is an increase from 75 percent compared to the previous year’s study. Another positive trend is that more and more companies are experiencing a balance between effective marketing and compliance with legislation to protect personal integrity. Over 80 percent of the companies that participated in the study believe that they have succeeded in achieving this balance, a large increase compared to last year when the figure was 63 percent. “After five years of GDPR, it is gratifying to see that more and more companies are taking greater responsibility when it comes to personal privacy online. The demand and expectation from consumers and website visitors will show that the companies that neglect to GDPR-adapt their operations will fall behind,” says Lisette Meij, data protection officer at Piwik PRO. The study also highlights that 58 percent of European organizations use marketing tools that store data within the EU, indicating that companies see the benefits of keeping their data on European servers. In addition, 75 percent of respondents believe that respect for individual privacy online can have a positive effect on their business.