Does the GDPR apply to my business if I’m not in Europe?
The short answer
It can. The GDPR applies to businesses outside the EU when they offer goods or services to people in the EU, or monitor their behaviour there, for example with tracking or profiling. Simply having a website people in Europe can visit isn’t enough on its own; selling to them, targeting them or tracking them is.
Applies in EU
Signs you are offering goods or services to people in the EU include prices in euros, delivery to EU countries, EU-specific pages or languages, and advertising aimed at EU countries. Monitoring behaviour includes tracking EU visitors across websites or building profiles of them.
If it applies to you
- Have a legal basis for each use of personal data, and say what it is in your privacy policy.
- Sign a data processing agreement with each provider that handles personal data for you (GDPR Art. 28).
- Keep data secure and report serious breaches within 72 hours (Art. 32–33).
- Check how data leaves the EU, for example to US providers (Chapter V).
- You may need a representative in the EU (Art. 27).
Fines can reach €20 million or 4% of worldwide turnover for the most serious breaches.
SlopDox provides compliance assistance only. This is general information to help you prepare — not legal advice, and no guarantee that a law does or doesn’t apply to you. For decisions, speak to a qualified lawyer.
Words used here
- GDPR (European Union)
- Europe’s privacy law. It applies if you handle personal data of people in the EU — even if your business is elsewhere.
- Processor and DPA
- A company that handles personal data for you (your host, database, email sender) is a “processor”. Privacy laws expect a contract with each — usually called a DPA.
- Data location (region)
- The country where a provider stores your data. Some privacy laws limit sending personal data overseas.
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