and processors once it comes into force in the spring of 2018. Fundamentally, GDPR aims to provide a set of standardized data protection laws across EU countries. This is intended to make it easier for EU citizens to understand how their data is being used and to raise any complaints. For implementers, it has potential to reduce fragmentation and administrative burdens where business activities flow through local, regional, national and international data exchanges. A full treatment of the data protection principles that drive compliance to the GDPR is beyond the scope of this paper, but an abundance of introductory resources is available on the Internet.