Hi and welcome to another NLEX podcast. I'm Anareka, managing editor for Emlex's London Bureau.

Today we'll be discussing the EU's new sweeping data protection rules that will come into force at the end of May.

The GDPR will significantly boost European citizens' data privacy rights and empower them to stand up to those that misuse their intimate information.

National data protection regulators in the EU will also get new powers, including the ability to find offenders up to 20 million euros or 4% of their global turnover.

I'm joined by Vesla Galeh Diceva, MLat's a senior technology correspondent in London.

Vesla will take us through what companies should expect, the risks they are facing, in short, what's at stake with the GDPR?

Hi Vesla. Hi Anna. Vesla, these really are the four letters on everyone's mind because there's a lot at stake,

correct?

Absolutely.

The GDPR is becoming a mainstream topic and a very clear illustration of this is that I'm

now hearing more and more people talk about the GDPR on the London Metro Network. Oh really? So you're coming into work and

people are concerned, they're discussing. Do they look worried? More and more. Yeah, absolutely. They say

this is around the corner. We need to act on it. So it's on everybody's mind. Can you take us through

the main risks that companies will face after May 25th? Well, we're not that enforcement cases and litigation will come from two directions,

national regulators and citizens or consumer civil society groups.

The GDPR gives data protection authorities in the vast new powers.

Regulators can open investigations into alleged infringers

either on their own initiative or in response to complaints and disputes in turn can end up before

national or even EU courts. There's also the threat of direct illegal action by individuals

or civil society groups before domestic courts.

This could include collective actions in some EU states, depending on how governments

incorporate the GDPR and then national laws.

...