Bitkom study reveals: even 2 years after the introduction of the GDPR, companies still find it difficult to implement the GDPR

The conclusion of the study could be that companies in Germany still have great difficulties with the GDPR. 92% of the companies surveyed also found that the GDPR had to be improved.

Of the companies that had stopped projects due to the GDPR, more than half cited unclear provisions of the GDPR as the reason. Around 75% of the companies surveyed said they were unsure about the requirements of the GDPR. Almost a third of the companies that stopped innovations cited certain requirements of the GDPR as the reason.

More than 500 companies in Germany with more than 20 employees each were surveyed. Bitkom conducted a similar survey in 2019.

More than 2 years after the introduction of the GDPR, only one in five companies said that they had fully implemented the GDPR. Almost 90% of companies are of the opinion that the GDPR cannot be fully implemented. More than a third of the companies complain that the GDPR significantly increases the workload. Only one fifth of companies see the GDPR as an advantage and around 60% of companies consider data protection to be a competitive advantage. On the other hand, 70% complain that their business processes are becoming more complicated.

Bitkom also regrets that the GDPR is currently often perceived by companies as a brake – not only when using new data analyzes or artificial intelligence, but also when digitizing business processes.

Especially during the corona pandemic, the GDPR was increasingly perceived as the cause of the problem. Companies did not use tools for collaboration, and only limited use of video calls, messenger services or clouds. In addition, 40% of companies are now of the opinion that the requirements of the GDPR are technically difficult to implement. In particular, almost 70% consider the deletion obligations under GDPR to be difficult to implement in practice

Four fifths of the companies would also like better advice and practical interpretation aids from the supervisory authorities. 60% believe that the GDPR would be easier to implement for them if the interpretation of the GDPR were uniform at the European and German levels.

For around 25% of the companies surveyed, a lack of specialist staff is a major challenge when implementing the GDPR.

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