Introduction to GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation (FutureLearn)

Introduction to GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation (FutureLearn)

Learn how to handle data in the digital economy safely, securely and respectfully. Learn how to handle data responsibly. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is designed to balance the need for businesses’ and customers’ data information to flow freely, and the need to protect the rights of the individual.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

As a professional you need to be aware of the legal requirements of the GDPR so you can ensure your organisation is compliant.
On this course you will get a thorough introduction to GDPR so you can grow your understanding of protecting personal data and be able to handle data in the digital economy appropriately.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1 - Law and history
The purpose and history of data regulation in relation to the new legislation
The principles of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Key concepts, including (but not limited to) the natural person, personal data, controllers and processors, and legitimate interests

Week 2 - The Natural Person
Legal bases for processing, including consent, legitimate interests and contracts
The rights of the individual, including (but not limited to) erasure, access and automated decision-making
Identifying how the implementation of GDPR could help to prevent particular breaches of data

Week 3 - The organisation and the data lifecycle
Implications of GDPR for workers, their places of work and their customers
Mitigating risks associated with the handling and processing of data
Third party contracts and transfers
Roles and responsibilities regarding Data Protection in the workplace

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explain the history and principles of data regulation which resulted in the GDPR
  • Identify the key concepts and purpose of the GDPR
  • Explain legal bases for processing personal data, including performance of contracts and how consent is obtained
  • Describe the rights of the individual under the regulations
  • Identify the ways in which the GDPR can help to avoid confidentiality breaches
  • Identify the implications of GDPR for you and your workplace
  • Explain actions you and your workplace can take to mitigate risks
  • Describe the role and responsibilities of Data Protection Officers
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Incarceration: Are prisons a suitable punishment? (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Leeds

Incarceration: Are prisons a suitable punishment? (FutureLearn)

Law

Explore life inside UK prisons. Learn whether this type of punishment reduces crime and if rehabilitation can prevent reoffending. Explore the ethics of imprisonment and identify prison alternatives. England and Wales have the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe. Almost a quarter of these prisoners are held in overcrowded prisons. On this course, you will take a look inside the prisons of England and Wales.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Making Successful Decisions through the Strategy, Law & Ethics Model (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Michigan

Making Successful Decisions through the Strategy, Law & Ethics Model (FutureLearn)

Get to grips with the processes behind effective business, personal and leadership decisions with this eight-week course. Learn how to make effective decisions using the strategy, law and ethics model. Effective decision making is based on the three key pillars of strategy, law, and ethics. This practical, framework-based course from the University of Michigan will show you how to combine these three pillars and ultimately make successful business, personal and leadership decisions.

Available Now
5-12 Weeks
Nuts and Bolts of U.S. Immigration Law (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Nuts and Bolts of U.S. Immigration Law (Coursera)

Law

This course begins by exploring short term entry and long term entry into the United States. We will cover the various means of short term entry and long term entry, as well as the general application processes. We will also examine exclusion and deportation in the United States. In particular, we will discuss how and why individuals may not be admitted into the United States and possible reasons for deportation or removal. Lastly, we will cover the process of how to become a United States citizen and the various requirements for naturalization.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law - The Structure of Government (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law - The Structure of Government (Coursera)

This course will highlight the construction and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution through the centuries. You'll learn the history behind the Constitution, cases that formed important precedent, and how changes in interpretation have been dependent on shifts in cultural and political climate as well as the composition of the Supreme Court.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Fraud Investigation: Making a Difference (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Coventry University,City of London Police

Fraud Investigation: Making a Difference (FutureLearn)

Explore the UK’s most common types of fraud and examine fraud factors and theories to better protect yourself and others. Explore the skills required to make a difference and prevent fraud. Fraud is a great challenge facing communities today. The methods used by criminals to steal from individuals and organisations are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This makes it even harder for fraud to be prevented. On this course, you will study with the City of London Police the skills needed to conduct an effective and proactive fraud investigation.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Taiwan Law in Focus: Economy, Society and Democracy (Coursera) Coursera
National Taiwan University

Taiwan Law in Focus: Economy, Society and Democracy (Coursera)

“Taiwan Law in Focus” is the first online course provided by the College of Law, National Taiwan University. This course will give you an introduction to the legal system in Taiwan, which includes the topics of Constitution, administration law, criminal law, civil law, corporative law, and some related issues. You will learn about the brief history of Taiwan’s legal system and its transition in recent decades.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University,Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum

International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice (Coursera)

“International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice” is the first MOOC of the Kalshoven-Gieskes Forum on International Humanitarian Law, which is the platform within the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University for the research, teaching and dissemination of international humanitarian law (IHL).

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Groningen

Protecting Health Data in the Modern Age: Getting to Grips with the GDPR (FutureLearn)

Learn how the GDPR helps to protect health data and get familiar with rights, obligations, risks and safeguards. Join this course to understand how health data is protected. People use technologies to track their fitness and health. Medical and health professionals use technologies to treat patients. These technologies generate a lot of health data. With technological developments in the health sector come questions of privacy.

Self Paced
2 Weeks
Inleiding Nederlands recht: de eerste stappen in de wereld van het recht (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Groningen

Inleiding Nederlands recht: de eerste stappen in de wereld van het recht (FutureLearn)

Law

Het recht regelt vrijwel alle aspecten van het leven. Deze cursus gaat in op de vraag wat recht is en waar je het kunt vinden. Het recht regelt vrijwel alle aspecten van de maatschappij. Soms is dat heel zichtbaar: je komt het tegen in de rechtszaal bij een zaak tegen een grote crimineel of in de Tweede Kamer bij een verhit debat over een nieuw wetsvoorstel. Het recht regelt ook kleinere - maar belangrijke - dingen, zoals het huurcontract van je nieuwe woning of je arbeidsovereenkomst.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Artificial Intelligence and legal issues (Coursera) Coursera
Politecnico di Milano

Artificial Intelligence and legal issues (Coursera)

The purpose of the course is to help students understand the legal implications related to the design and use of artificial intelligence systems, providing an overview of the risks and legal protections that can be envisaged and giving an overview of the legislation and legal principles currently applicable on the subject.

Oct 5th 2026
4 Weeks
Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen

Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World (Coursera)

Learn what motivates the restive Muslim youth from Tunis to Tehran, what political positions Islamists from Mali to Chechnya are fighting for, where the seeming obsession with Islamic law comes from, where the secularists have vanished to, and whether it makes sense to speak of an Islamic state. This course is a survey of the constitutional ideas and institutions that have developed since the mid 19th century throughout predominantly Muslim countries, but its focus will lie on the actors that have dominated this discourse and shaped its outcomes. We will look at the large body of classical writings on the Islamic state only in so far as it is necessary to understand the contemporary debate, but concentrate on the legal and political developments of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks