GDPR

GDPR Compliance

Europe's data protection standard. Map your data processing, demonstrate accountability, and manage subject rights.

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation 2016/679) is the EU's comprehensive data protection law that governs how organizations collect, process, store, and share personal data of EU residents. It replaced the 1995 Data Protection Directive and has been in force since May 2018.

GDPR establishes principles of lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and accountability. Organizations must demonstrate compliance through documentation, impact assessments, and appointed Data Protection Officers.

The regulation grants individuals extensive rights over their personal data, including the right to access, rectification, erasure ('right to be forgotten'), data portability, and the right to object to automated decision-making.

Who needs to comply?

Applies to

  • Any organization processing personal data of EU/EEA residents
  • Companies offering goods or services to people in the EU
  • Organizations monitoring behavior of individuals in the EU
  • Data processors handling personal data on behalf of controllers
  • Public bodies and organizations with large-scale data processing

Exemptions

  • Purely household or personal activities
  • Law enforcement under the separate Law Enforcement Directive
  • National security activities (member state competence)

Key Requirements

The most important articles and obligations you need to address.

Art. 5

Processing Principles

The seven core principles: lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, and accountability.

Art. 6

Lawful Basis

Six legal bases for processing: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task, and legitimate interests.

Art. 13-14

Information Rights

Detailed information that must be provided to data subjects when personal data is collected directly or indirectly.

Art. 25

Data Protection by Design

Controllers must implement data protection principles from the design stage and by default in all processing activities.

Art. 30

Records of Processing

Mandatory records of all processing activities, including purposes, categories, recipients, and retention periods.

Art. 33-34

Breach Notification

Data breaches must be reported to the supervisory authority within 72 hours, and to affected individuals if high risk.

Art. 35

Impact Assessments (DPIA)

Required for high-risk processing. Must assess necessity, proportionality, risks to individuals, and mitigation measures.

Art. 83

Fines & Penalties

Maximum fines of EUR 20M or 4% of global annual turnover for the most serious violations.

How complixo helps with GDPR

Purpose-built features to get you from zero to compliant.

GDPR Compliance Checks

Pre-built checks covering all major GDPR requirements, from lawful basis to breach notification procedures.

Evidence Management

Collect and organize DPIAs, processing records, consent logs, and data flow documentation with approval workflows.

Multi-Level Compliance

Organization-wide GDPR requirements separate from per-application data processing checks.

Controls & Mappings

Define data protection controls once, map them to GDPR articles, and track implementation status across teams.

Risk Register

Assess and track data protection risks with impact scoring linked to mitigating controls.

Audit-Ready Reports

Generate compliance reports for supervisory authority requests or internal audits in PDF, Excel, or Word.

Frequently asked questions

Does GDPR apply to small businesses?

Yes. GDPR applies to all organizations processing personal data of EU residents, regardless of size. However, some obligations (like appointing a DPO) have exemptions for smaller organizations. The key factor is what data you process, not how big you are.

What counts as personal data under GDPR?

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This includes names, email addresses, IP addresses, location data, cookie identifiers, and even pseudonymized data if it can be linked back to an individual.

What is the difference between a controller and processor?

A controller determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. A processor processes data on behalf of the controller. Both have obligations under GDPR, but controllers bear primary responsibility for compliance.

How much are GDPR fines?

GDPR fines can reach EUR 20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. In practice, fines vary based on severity. Notable fines include EUR 1.2B (Meta, 2023), EUR 746M (Amazon, 2021), and EUR 405M (Meta/Instagram, 2022).

How does complixo help with GDPR compliance?

complixo provides structured GDPR compliance checks at both organization and application level, evidence management for DPIAs and processing records, controls mapped to specific GDPR articles, and audit-ready reports for supervisory authority requests.

Get GDPR compliant in minutes

Pre-built checks, structured evidence, and audit-ready reports. No credit card required.