{"id":15211,"date":"2026-07-15T17:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cognitis.cloud\/courses\/gdpr-and-data-protection-awareness\/lesson\/what-is-the-gdpr-and-why-it-matters\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:49:48","slug":"what-is-the-gdpr-and-why-it-matters","status":"publish","type":"lesson","link":"https:\/\/cognitis.cloud\/bg\/courses\/gdpr-and-data-protection-awareness\/lesson\/what-is-the-gdpr-and-why-it-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the GDPR and why it matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union law that governs how organisations collect, use, store and share the personal data of people in the EU. It applies to any organisation that handles such data, wherever it is based.<\/p>\n<p>The GDPR exists to give people more control over their personal data and to hold organisations to a clear, consistent standard. Handled well, it builds trust with customers, employees and partners. Handled badly, it can lead to real harm, complaints, reputational damage and significant fines.<\/p>\n<p>Data protection is everyone&#8217;s responsibility, not just the legal team&#8217;s. This course gives you the practical foundation you need.<\/p>\n<h4>Real-life example<\/h4>\n<p>After a 2018 cyber attack exposed the personal and payment details of hundreds of thousands of British Airways customers, the UK regulator issued one of its largest fines to date. It showed that weak data protection is a real business risk, not just paperwork.<\/p>","protected":false},"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-15211","lesson","type-lesson","status-publish","hentry"],"spectra_custom_meta":{"_uagb_previous_block_counts":["a:90:{s:21:\"uagb\/advanced-heading\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/blockquote\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/buttons\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/buttons-child\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/call-to-action\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/cf7-styler\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/column\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/columns\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/container\";i:0;s:21:\"uagb\/content-timeline\";i:0;s:27:\"uagb\/content-timeline-child\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/countdown\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/counter\";i:0;s:8:\"uagb\/faq\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/faq-child\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/forms\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-accept\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/forms-checkbox\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/forms-date\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-email\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-hidden\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/forms-name\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-phone\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/forms-radio\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-select\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/forms-textarea\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/forms-toggle\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/forms-url\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/gf-styler\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/google-map\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/how-to\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/how-to-step\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/icon\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/icon-list\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/icon-list-child\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/image\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/image-gallery\";i:0;s:13:\"uagb\/info-box\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/inline-notice\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/lottie\";i:0;s:21:\"uagb\/marketing-button\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/modal\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/popup-builder\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/post-button\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-carousel\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/post-excerpt\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/post-grid\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/post-image\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/post-masonry\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/post-meta\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-taxonomy\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/post-timeline\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/post-title\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/restaurant-menu\";i:0;s:26:\"uagb\/restaurant-menu-child\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/review\";i:0;s:12:\"uagb\/section\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/separator\";i:0;s:11:\"uagb\/slider\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/slider-child\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/social-share\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/social-share-child\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/star-rating\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/sure-cart-checkout\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/sure-cart-product\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/sure-forms\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/table-of-contents\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/tabs\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/tabs-child\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/taxonomy-list\";i:0;s:9:\"uagb\/team\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/testimonial\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/wp-search\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/instagram-feed\";i:0;s:10:\"uagb\/login\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/loop-builder\";i:0;s:18:\"uagb\/loop-category\";i:0;s:20:\"uagb\/loop-pagination\";i:0;s:15:\"uagb\/loop-reset\";i:0;s:16:\"uagb\/loop-search\";i:0;s:14:\"uagb\/loop-sort\";i:0;s:17:\"uagb\/loop-wrapper\";i:0;s:13:\"uagb\/register\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/register-email\";i:0;s:24:\"uagb\/register-first-name\";i:0;s:23:\"uagb\/register-last-name\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/register-password\";i:0;s:30:\"uagb\/register-reenter-password\";i:0;s:19:\"uagb\/register-terms\";i:0;s:22:\"uagb\/register-username\";i:0;}"],"_tutorstarter_schema":["a:32:{s:18:\"main_schema_select\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"sub_schema_select\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"logo_url\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"description\";s:0:\"\";s:7:\"address\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"phone\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"city\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"email\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"state_region\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"zip_code\";s:0:\"\";s:7:\"country\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"po_box\";s:0:\"\";s:9:\"job_title\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"height\";s:0:\"\";s:10:\"birth_date\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"birth_place\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"nationality\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"duration\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"upload_date\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"content_url\";s:0:\"\";s:9:\"embed_url\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"interaction_count\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"rating_value\";s:0:\"\";s:16:\"reviewed_product\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"reviewed_by\";s:0:\"\";s:14:\"date_published\";s:0:\"\";s:14:\"publisher_type\";s:0:\"\";s:14:\"publisher_name\";s:0:\"\";s:8:\"keywords\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"article_body\";s:0:\"\";s:13:\"provider_name\";s:0:\"\";}"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:0:\"\";s:2:\"js\";s:0:\"\";s:18:\"current_block_list\";a:9:{i:0;s:11:\"core\/search\";i:1;s:10:\"core\/group\";i:2;s:12:\"core\/heading\";i:3;s:17:\"core\/latest-posts\";i:4;s:20:\"core\/latest-comments\";i:5;s:13:\"core\/archives\";i:6;s:15:\"core\/categories\";i:7;s:17:\"core\/social-links\";i:8;s:16:\"core\/social-link\";}s:8:\"uag_flag\";b:0;s:11:\"uag_version\";i:1784241590;s:6:\"gfonts\";a:0:{}s:10:\"gfonts_url\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"gfonts_files\";a:0:{}s:14:\"uag_faq_layout\";b:0;}"]},"uagb_featured_image_src":[],"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"c2admin","author_link":"https:\/\/cognitis.cloud\/bg\/author\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The 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