LISTSERV Inventor's Take on the GDPR

Bethesda, MD (May 9, 2018) – Being permission-based since day one and having, in fact, introduced double opt-in to the email industry 25 years ago, one might think that LISTSERV would have been GDPR-compliant out of the box. But, while LISTSERV was built on most of the principles that would come to guide the GDPR today (consent, access to one's own data, the ability to make corrections, no data processing unless necessary), the GDPR is a complex piece of legislation and changes wound up being necessary to help process personal data inquiries. These changes are now available, with L-Soft's release today of LISTSERV version 16.5.

"Something had to be done to curb the pillaging greed of big players that will stop at nothing to squeeze the last dollar out of our private data," said Eric Thomas, Founder and CEO of L-Soft. "These companies know far more about our private lives than law enforcement and credit card companies, and yet they were almost completely unregulated. Something had to be done but, unfortunately, the GDPR will fail in that regard."

Version 16.5 of LISTSERV adds new features that make it much easier to locate and retrieve information relevant to a GDPR inquiry. Also included is a customizable PowerShell script for Windows, Linux and MacOS, which scans all areas of LISTSERV where personal information could be stored (email lists, message archives, change logs, etc.) and generates a report in XML format to comply with the GDPR data portability requirement.

"Facebook, Google and others have already found ways to get around the spirit of the GDPR while complying with the letter," said Thomas. "It is a different story for small businesses that do not have the same legal and technical resources. They will have to live under a €20 million Damocles' sword, or opt out of the GDPR altogether by refusing to do business with EU consumers. Forget trade wars and tariffs, the GDPR is a far more effective tool to keep small foreign businesses out of the EU market."

Although they are the most visible, the new GDPR features are just a small fraction of the overall improvements added with version 16.5 of LISTSERV.

See other new features and more at:
http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv_165.asp

About L-Soft

L-Soft is the exclusive provider of LISTSERV® email list technology and related services for global digital communications. Organizations across all sectors rely on L-Soft's permission email solutions to manage email newsletters, announcement lists, discussion groups and email communities. Invented by L-Soft Founder and CEO Eric Thomas in 1986, LISTSERV pioneered automated email list management and remains the de facto industry standard. In 2018, L-Soft celebrates the 25th anniversary of double opt-in subscription confirmation, which debuted in LISTSERV.

L-Soft Press Contact

Susan Brown Faghani
1-301-731-0440, Ext 4
https://www.lsoft.com/contact/econtact.asp?id=pressinfo





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See Guidelines for Proper Usage of the LISTSERV Trademark for more details.

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