GDPR Implementation Patterns — Building Privacy Into Your Code
Consent management, right to be forgotten, data portability, DPO requirements, and cross-border data transfers
GDPR changed the internet. Before 2018, most companies treated personal data like it belonged to them. GDPR flipped that assumption: personal data belongs to the individual, and companies are just borrowing it — with conditions.
If you have even a single user in the European Union, GDPR applies to you. Not "might apply." Applies. And unlike some regulations that are more theoretical than practical, GDPR has teeth. Fines can reach 4% of global annual revenue or 20 million euros, whichever is higher.
Let's turn legal requirements into code patterns.
The Six Lawful Bases for Processing
Before you process any personal data, you need a lawful basis. GDPR defines exactly six:
- Consent — The individual agreed (opt-in, not opt-out)
- Contract — Processing is necessary to fu
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