It is universally acknowledged that internet has an increasing and enormous potential in the development of online business marketplace and electronic commerce. More and more businesses are integrated into the online arena, day by day.

Undeniably, when it comes to online business it is of crucial importance to ensure that your online business is aligned and duly, in compliance, with the relevant regulatory and legislative frameworks. A number of laws have been enacted, that pertain specifically and/or related to the online businesses, including but not limited to intellectual property rights (trademarks, copyrights etc.), privacy policies, terms of service, data protection and consumer rights.

First of all, you have to ensure the registration of your incorporation.

Chambersfield Economides Kranos offers full corporate services in order to cover every possible corporate need, and, can provide you inter-alia, with any legal assistance and/or services required and/or undertake on and/or for your behalf all the necessary procedures, for the purposes of ensuring the registration and formation of your company.

The application for registration of a Cypriot company is filed to and examined by the Companies Registrar and Official Receiver, on a case by case basis.

Also, noted shall be that depending on the services and/or products you wish to provide, you may require to apply for specific license.

Furthermore, when choosing internet as a means for establishing and/or starting your business activities, you must also be properly aware of the issues surrounding intellectual property rights.

Online businesses that embrace modern innovation and invest in research and development, in a cyberspace with a continuous information flow shall, undoubtedly, be Intellectual Property informed and aware.

Intellectual property, comprises, inter alia, industry and industrial property that includes inventions, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and intellectual property rights, creators’ copyright rights, including scientific, musical, literary and artistic works as well as television shows, software, databases, architectural plans, advertising and multimedia, as well as business strategies which include business secrets, confidentiality agreements and know-how.

An important number of consumers avoids electronic commerce, fearing the insufficient data, security and confidentiality.

A strong emphasize shall be placed on consumer protection standards and legislative requirements. When you operate your business online, you have to ensure that your website is properly compliant with the relevant legislative and/or regulatory requirements, considering privacy policies.

Among others there is an outmost need of implementing privacy policies. Privacy policies are used to let customers know how their personally identifiable information is going to be used by the online business.

In addition, personal data protection is deemed to be of outmost importance and one of the main concerns for consumers and businesses.

If you use and/or process the personal data of EU citizens or residents, then the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) may apply to you even if you’re not in the EU, imposing high privacy and security standards. Consequently, you have to make sure that you have the appropriate terms and conditions and disclaimers in place.

Moreover, ensuring and implementing cyber security policies is of vital importance for your business, safeguarding sensitive data, personally identifiable information and protecting it from cyber threats.

For online businesses to thrive there is a need of compliance with the relevant legislative and/or regulatory framework, encouraging businesses’ economic growth and success.

Complying with the relevant regulatory and legislative framework will enhance, inter alia, your relationship with your prospective and existing customers and help you building your reputation as an ethical and trustworthy business.

Be fully prepared in properly complying with all the legal requirements and/or formalities, will minimize possible risks to your business and/or prevent any unwanted legal complications.

Our legal team of expert and experienced professionals can advise you and assist you with all legal aspects related to formation and/or operation of online businesses, as well as consultation and representation in relevant litigation proceedings.

For further information and/or clarifications you may require, please contact our offices.

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Upon the fight against the COVID-19, and in an effort to reduce the said negative impact of “business as usual”, the vast majority of organizations introduced, for the first time, a variety of forms and degrees of remote work to maintain a company’s sustainability.

Undeniably, a solid attempt of the companies to limit the physical presence of the employees to the offices was demonstrated the past few weeks.

However, this implementation of remote work ethics to the employees entails the preparation of the organization to adjust and act accordingly, especially in relation to the personal data protection risks, since the threats that may arise from the use of technology during remote working are sufficiently large.

In case the organizations do not engage the necessary measures, then sudden risks and consequences might be moved stealthily against the organization.

Hence, there are justified concerns on how to maintain compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”) during this crisis.

The GDPR was established to ensure that each and every legal entity that process personal data are held responsible for the safeguarding of the fundamental right of a person to the protection of their personal data.

Specifically, according to the GDPR, the company shall ensure the minimization of the risk for a potential personal data breach that might lead to the unintentional or unlawful access, loss, alteration, and unauthorized interruption or disclosure of personal data, which as processed or stored by the company.

Such personal data breach includes, but is not limited to, when an unauthorized disclosure or leak occurs and a third party obtains personal data without the prior necessary permission and also when the relevant access to the personal data is lost by the company. To this point, noted shall be that serious breaches that might occur due to the non-compliance of the legal entity with the Regulation can be punishable by fines of up to EUR 20million or the 4% of the worldwide total revenue of the legal entity for the preceding financial year, whichever is greater.

Thus, the GDPR demanded the implementation organizational and technical measures by a company, in such extent and degree, to ensure the protection of personal data, always in accordance to the regular risk assessments executed by the legal entity.

So, what happens in case the company did not have the appropriate time to comprehensively assess the impact of the “remote working” risks prior its implementation to the employees?

A brief risk assessment of the potential company’s threats stipulates that the number one enemy of a legal entity for maintaining its compliance with the GDPR is the unsecured networks.

This is solely because the employee, who is working remotely, is no longer using the secure corporate network that provides the relevant firewalls and encryption and therefore, there is vulnerability of the company to control the features that the employee is using.

In addition, and considering the unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19, it should also be noted that most of the companies did not have the relevant equipment and the employees were called to enforce the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy.

The BYOD policy increases the lack of control of the company and thus, the company’s vulnerability to potential data breaches, due to viruses or malware, enlarges.

Last but not least, noted shall be that the human factor is the weakest link of any safeguarding measure that may be adopted.

Having said the above, the compliance of a legal entity with the GDPR can be argued as of a paramount importance and a company shall adopt all possible measures necessary to maintain such compliance during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to its needs.

Since the needs of an organization for the GDPR compliance may vary upon the nature of the business or the personal data that possess or process, we invite you to discuss further the matter on a case by case scenario.

At Chambersfield Economides Kranos law firm we can advise you and provide you with the solutions for an accurate compliance with the GDPR.

You can contact our law firm for further information.

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