GDPR Compliance for E-Learning Systems and Platforms

These days data privacy has become very important for most online platforms. Many Americans and Europeans believe that the government and private companies monitor and track their offline and online activities.

According to Pew Research Center, 62% of US citizens believe that companies collect their data, and 63% believe the government collects them. Due to these concerns, the European Union enforced General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25th May 2018. This post will help you understand GDPR and how to master compliance for your eLearning systems. Keep reading to gain more insight.

The main goal of this regulation is to make platforms that handle personal data more transparent and accountable. This effort also helps build a stronger culture of privacy, supports better understanding of data protection, and ensures that the privacy of ordinary users is respected and safeguarded.

The GDPR applies to any company or platform that offers services to people living in the European Union or monitors their online activity, such as through cookies. The company’s location does not matter because if it works with EU residents, it must comply with GDPR requirements.

The main goal of implementing the GDPR was to protect EU citizens from data breaches. It was also meant to protect private data. Unfortunately, laws set in the ’90s are outdated and cannot offer the proper data protection or privacy that EU citizens need. You should also know that there are repercussions for not complying with this legislation. Companies that do not comply face fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.

Read also: MyOwnConference updates about the GDPR

It is crucial to understand the basic things about GDPR before looking at how it can be compatible with e-learning systems. There are common terminologies usually used in GDPR, and will help you understand a few things about this regulation. Here they are:

Processing

This refers to anything an organization can do with your data. For example, it could be collecting, storing, transmitting, or sharing data. If the company handles your data in any way, that is called processing.

Data controller

These are companies that store, collect or manage your data. A good example is a bank, which takes your data to give you banking services.

Data processor

This is an organization that provides data storage and processing.

Data subject

The person the data is about, which here means an instructor or a learner.

Consent indicates that the data subject is okay with the collected or processed data. For example, they can deliberately click the approval button to allow the company to use the information.

E-learning and LMS platforms function predominantly to process, manage, report and analyze users’ data. On the other hand, GDPR compliance improves security, accountability, and privacy. This means any business whose LMS handles the data of people in the EU has to comply.

The updated GDPR compliance regulation does not only emphasize EU-hosted LMS. Companies can also use LMS platforms hosted in other countries so long as the platform recognizes the GDPR or EU level of protection.

You and your provider usually share the obligations. As the controller, you decide what data is collected and why, and the data subjects in an eLearning system are your instructors, learners, and training administrators.

The GDPR compliance regulation affects the eLearning systems by implementing various factors. Obviously, the good thing is that it allows users to know who is holding their data and what it is for. It also means they can give consent knowing what they are agreeing to.

There are a few things eLearning systems should cover to become GDPR-compliant. They include:

Approve

Getting consent from users is very important for data security practices. Companies must ensure employees and customers have permitted them to use their data before processing and analyzing the data.

Data Collection

GDPR ensures that organizations have the right to collect the data they are requesting from their customers or users. It also provides that companies use that information for limited purposes only.

Data Breach Notifications

The GDPR compliance regulation indicates that breach data notifications are a must. This is in the case where data breaches cause risks in the freedoms and rights of users or individuals.

Rights of Individual

The GDPR sets out the rights of the data subject, who can ask a controller to confirm whether their personal data is being processed and for what purposes. Other rights include access, rectification, erasure (often called the right to be forgotten), restriction of processing, objection, and data portability.

Privacy by Design

This is another requirement that eLearning systems must meet to comply with GDPR regulations. Article 25 of the regulation requires data protection by design and by default, and the data minimisation principle in Article 5 limits controllers to the data actually necessary for the purpose. Together they mean collecting less and controlling access to what you do hold.

What counts as personal data

This is what the GDPR turns on, so it is worth knowing what personal data covers if they want to practice their freedom and rights. Basically, personal data is any information that relates to an individual directly or indirectly. Generally, it may include emails, names, addresses, numbers, etc.

In the GDPR compliance regulation, personal data may include:

An individual’s appearance. That may consist of skin color, height, eye color, weight, traits, hair color, body marks, etc.;
Workplace and education details;
Special categories of data, such as religious beliefs or political opinions, which may only be processed on the narrower grounds the regulation sets out for them, and location data, which is treated as personal data in its own right.
Social-biographical information like the date of birth, home address, phone number, etc.;
Medical history includes dental history, pre-existing illnesses, genetic information, and health insurance policy.

GDPR ensures privacy by protecting citizens’ personal data. This gives people the confidence to share their information on online platforms as they know what it will be used for and with whom. However, it is also important to follow the regulations to avoid heavy fines that may bring your business down.

As shown above, we have mentioned only a few things about GDPR to help you understand the regulation. Unfortunately, in most cases, GDPR is usually overlooked for eLearning systems.

As a result, this guide should help you understand how the GDPR works in eLearning. For the legislation itself, and for anything that turns on your own circumstances, take proper legal advice.

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FAQ

GDPR means that any e-learning platform processing data of EU residents must protect that data, be transparent about how it is used and stored, and respect the rights of learners and instructors under the regulation.

Which roles do data controller and data processor play in an LMS environment?

In the LMS environment the data controller is the organization that decides what data to collect and why, while the data processor is the one that actually stores or handles the data on behalf of the controller.

What is regarded as personal data in the context of e-learning systems?

Personal data covers any information that relates directly or indirectly to an individual learner or instructor such as name, email, education or workplace details, appearance traits, and health or profiling data.

Why must e-learning systems implement privacy by design and data minimization?

These principles require that an e-learning system only collects and stores the minimum amount of personal data necessary for its functions and integrates privacy into its design so that users’ rights and freedoms are respected from the start.

If an online training provider fails to comply with GDPR, it may face fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher, and it risks losing the trust of learners and regulators alike.