Most every one who is in tech knows that GDPR is a European . . . something. But beyond that they aren’t too sure. As a startup lawyer in Houston and Dallas one of the questions that comes up frequently is “do I need to worry about GDPR?” The answer is:
YES if your Texas startup is offering goods or services to people in the EU or if you’re monitoring their behavior
No if you’re not doing anything with any EU subjects
And there you have it.
I will say this—even if your Texas startup isn’t doing anything with any European individuals, that you still at least learn the basics of GDPR and incorporate those ideas into what you’re doing. It’s good for best practices, cybersecurity, and for protecting the privacy of those you are dealing with. And of course, it is highly likely that GDPR types of rules and regulations will hit state-side so you might as well get used to good internal and external data protection policies.