Just when you thought the dust kicked up by GDPR had settled, along comes the US dragging a big pair or Privacy Shield boots through the topic, stirring up another storm among providers.
Do the latest European Privacy Shield mumblings affect you and your data?
Security and data protection is a huge part of our service; so, keeping you up-to-date about all the latest regulation information is vital.
We know that many of you will have all manner of questions about how your personal data is managed, and what any connection involved in sharing it with the US now means for you.
With European Email Verification Bouncer, you’re in (data) safe hands
Here’s the good news you’re raring to hear. If you’re concerned that your Bouncer account could be affected by these latest EU regulations—there’s absolutely no need to be.
You and your data are in the safest hands of the industry. For most of you, that should be enough to appease any worries. For the rest, we’ll explain exactly why that is, as we dig deeper into the debate during this article.
The only thing you really need to know is that we carry out all of our email verification in Europe, on European servers, with European systems. We’re EU through and through. It makes us GDPR masters, without a Privacy Shield or US government snoop in sight.
Why you’re so safe with Bouncer
To avoid the recent Privacy Shield issues, all you need from a service like ours is Europe based email validation. And yes, you guessed it, that’s exactly what you get from Bouncer.
Bouncer has always made sure to comply with the strict rules and guidelines set out by the EU. We’re an all-singing, all-dancing European business, which means our servers and systems are exactly where they need to be to comply with GDPR.
Our servers and software are nowhere near the US, unlike some of the other popular email checkers and campaign delivery providers. There are around 5,000 organizations and businesses that utilize Privacy Shield. If you’re concerned about any of your other providers, you might want to check that nobody you use is on that list.
What this all means for you, though, dear customer, is that you don’t have to worry about using us in the slightest. We comply with all GDPR email verification standards. If you’d like to read more about our GDPR policies and practices, you’re more than welcome to.
What is Privacy Shield?
Here’s a quick lesson in recent EU-US data protection history.
To share any kind of personal data (that’s everything from an email address and upwards), there has to be rules to protect the user. You know this because GDPR and data protection has barely left the news or our screens for the past 4 or 5 years.
Back in 2012, The European Commission weren’t altogether happy with the way the US managed personal data arriving from Europe—mostly because of differences in how they viewed security.
At that point, the European Court of Justice rejected the Safe Harbour system in operation at that time.
The European Privacy Shield arrangement was introduced in 2016 to combat those findings. 2 years later, when GDPR was introduced, the Commission jumped back into Privacy Shield to check everyone was on the same page.
July 2020—Privacy Shield was declared invalid
Sadly, that wasn’t the case. So, in July of 2020, The European Commission deemed data transfers between the EU and the US unlawful.
Why? Because there was far too much concern into US surveillance, especially how the government is permitted to interfere with private-sector data.
What does that mean for data processors in the EU?
If you’re managing anyone else’s data or using it to provide a service, then you can’t transmit it into the US unless it matches the measures of GDPR legislation.
Privacy Shield doesn’t conform. If your suppliers or providers utilize their stamp of approval as an agent of compliance, it’s just not good enough anymore. It’s time you took some serious steps to move your systems.
But, as we said, none of that applies to Bouncer. Your secrets are all safe with us.
What you need is a system that conforms to GDPR email validation—and with Bouncer that’s just what you get.
What can you do to make sure your data is safe?
It would be very hard to consider that some of your business’s data won’t ever end up in the US. In fact, it’s almost impossible. So here’s how you go about protecting it.
Step 1: Know where your suppliers and providers data centres are
If you want to find out about a supplier’s infrastructure, it should all be outlined in their data processing agreement. If that’s not on their website, ask them to send you a copy.
Don’t be fooled about where a business has its headquarters. A European software provider might be using an American infrastructure, which means that they’re not up to the standards of GDPR.
Plenty of US providers offer both US and EU data storage, making a loose claim to GDPR compliance. Not so, shout our experts. If the operatives in the US have access to those EU servers, it means that the data still has a route in and out of the US.
That’s another big strike against GDPR compliance.
Step 2: Ditch your US storage centres and re-home your data into Europe
With this issue making a massive impact on so many businesses, many have changed how they practice—or more accurately, where they practice.
There are those that have tried to set up private agreements regarding data management. However, your customers will want to see a body handling matters that they’ve heard of and trust.
If and when an issue was to arise, it would be almost impossible to find court-based protection and resolution for anything other than GDPR compliance.
Other US suppliers took the only other route they could and set up self-contained sister companies in Europe. That works, but only if they are truly self-contained and there isn’t any line of transatlantic communication or transfer between them.
Step 3: Take advantage of an EU alternative
If the service or software that you use is one you can easily replace—why not? There are plenty of fantastic EU operations and suppliers delivering the standards you need and may even save you money in the process.
They should certainly provide the European email verification function we’re debating.
Rest assured—Bouncer built its practices on GDPR
Selecting an European email verification provider is a smart choice! But chosing Bouncer is the best decision you will ever made! The security of your data has always been our number one priority.
Making sure our EU users are truly safe is paramount to our process. We’re proud of the level of service we offer right across the board, not just when it comes to the EU and GDPR.
With every angle and detail meticulously catered for, you can be sure that we’re the super-safe alternative to anybody operating with tools that are still signed up to Privacy Shield.
