When collecting customer data through surveys, GDPR compliance is essential to ensure privacy and protect respondents' rights.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) establishes strict guidelines for handling personal data, including transparency, consent, and secure processing.
Businesses collecting survey data must act as data controllers, determining how and why data is processed, while survey platforms act as data processors, responsible for processing data on behalf of the controllers.
To ensure GDPR compliance and avoid penalties, survey platforms must:
Provide customizable consent forms to gather explicit permission from respondents.
Ensure data security through encryption (e.g., AES-256) and storage in ISO 27001-certified servers.
Offer tools for data access, rectification, deletion, and portability to honor respondents' rights.
Sign data processing agreements (DPAs) with businesses to outline data use responsibilities.
Additionally, businesses should seek platforms that do not share collected data with third parties, such as advertisers, and grant exclusive data ownership to users.
While it's always wise to put staff on regular GDPR training courses, selecting a GDPR survey platform that meets these criteria will enable businesses to collect insights responsibly, comply with global privacy laws, and maintain user trust.