The new regulation, which introduces measures like requiring explicit recipients' permission to send ads, will be implemented across the EU starting May 25. The GDPR aims to give people more control over the way their data is handled.
Eight EU countries, Latvia included, will not, however, have local laws in place to back up the regulation, even though most of the principles of the new regulation were set out as early as December 2015.
MP Inese Lībiņa Egnere (Unity), the vice-head of the Saeima Legal Affairs Committee, told Latvian Radio that corresponding Latvian regulation will be introduced only some time after the second, non-final reading slated for June 7.
She said that the Saeima received the proposed legislation only March 14, and that MPs have so many questions over the bill that it's currently only in its early stages. MPs have expressed dissatisfaction over the delayed timeline.
"It's the fault of the Justice Minister," said Lībiņa Egnere.
According to data collected by Intrum, a credit management company, 27% of European companies are not aware of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Compared to the rest of the European Union, 23% of Latvian companies say they do not know what GDPR is, but Lithuania ranks among the countries with the lowest knowledge (49%). Estonian companies are the most knowledgeable in the Baltics - only 21% of companies have not heard of GDPR.
More information about GDPR is avilable at: https://www.eugdpr.org/
