GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

The GDPR is the EU's comprehensive privacy law. It applies to any service that processes personal data of EU residents, regardless of where the service is based. Key provisions include rights of access (Article 15), rectification (16), erasure / right to be forgotten (17), portability (20), and objection (21). Fines for non-compliance can reach 4 % of global annual turnover or €20 million, whichever is higher.

For offshore hosting, GDPR matters in two ways. First, EU-located offshore hosts (Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria) must comply directly. Second, non-EU offshore hosts (Iceland, Switzerland, Panama) must still comply if they target EU users — this is GDPR's extraterritorial reach. Most reputable offshore operators including SilentHosts publish a GDPR-aligned Privacy Policy regardless of incorporation jurisdiction.