GDPR compliance status EU companies 2023

Published by
Ani Petrosyan,
Mar 4, 2025

In a November 2023 survey, more than 50 percent of data protection officers (DPOs) and privacy professionals in European Union (EU) said that an average controller would find a relevant GDPR violation in case of a random check of an average controller. Some 47 percent said they would need more clear decisions by data protection authorities (DPAs) and courts to improve GDPR compliance.

Status of GDPR compliance in EU companies as of November 2023

CharacteristicStrongly agreeSomehow agreeNeutralSomehow disagreeStrongly disagreeNo answer
If a DPA would walk into the door of an average controller tomorrow, they would surely find relevant GDPR violations 53.1% 21.3% 9.4% 4.8% 3.9% 7.5%
We would need more clear decisions by DPAs and courts to improve compliance 47.4% 23.5% 11.9% 5.2% 4.2% 7.8%
We would need more DPA enforcement to actually improve user privacy in practice 47% 22.9% 11.2% 6.2% 5.1% 7.6%
There are still many conflicting interpretations of the GDPR 25.9% 28.4% 22.8% 11.8% 3.5% 7.5%
Independent of the paperwork, the GDPR has significantly improved how organizations process personal data 19.7% 34.4% 24.7% 9.6% 4% 7.5%
The GDPR has lost its deterring effect over the past five years 12.3% 18.9% 24.4% 21.9% 13.9% 8.6%
The GDPR is mainly a bureaucratic exercise, but did not improve user privacy much 6.8% 13.6% 20.8% 28% 22.8% 8%
Decision makers think that there is a significant risk of DPA enforcement action 6.2% 16.7% 26.7% 26.6% 13.7% 10%
Companies that do not focus on making profits from data are largely GDPR compliant 3.7% 12.5% 28.1% 26% 18.7% 11.1%
Companies that rely on personal data to make profits are largely GDPR compliant 3.7% 12.2% 22% 26.2% 26.3% 9.4%
Showing entries 1 to 10 (10 entries in total)
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Share of respondents53.1%53.1%47.4%47.4%47%47%25.9%25.9%19.7%19.7%12.3%12.3%6.8%6.8%6.2%6.2%3.7%3.7%3.7%3.7%21.3%21.3%23.5%23.5%22.9%22.9%28.4%28.4%34.4%34.4%18.9%18.9%13.6%13.6%16.7%16.7%12.5%12.5%12.2%12.2%9.4%9.4%11.9%11.9%11.2%11.2%22.8%22.8%24.7%24.7%24.4%24.4%20.8%20.8%26.7%26.7%28.1%28.1%22%22%4.8%4.8%5.2%5.2%6.2%6.2%11.8%11.8%9.6%9.6%21.9%21.9%28%28%26.6%26.6%26%26%26.2%26.2%3.9%3.9%4.2%4.2%5.1%5.1%3.5%3.5%4%4%13.9%13.9%22.8%22.8%13.7%13.7%18.7%18.7%26.3%26.3%7.5%7.5%7.8%7.8%7.6%7.6%7.5%7.5%7.5%7.5%8.6%8.6%8%8%10%10%11.1%11.1%9.4%9.4%Strongly agreeSomehow agreeNeutralSomehow disagreeStrongly disagreeNo answerIf a DPA would walk into the door of an average controller tomorrow,they would surely find relevant GDPR violationsWe would need more clear decisions by DPAs and courts to improvecomplianceWe would need more DPA enforcement to actually improve userprivacy in practiceThere are still many conflicting interpretations of the GDPRIndependent of the paperwork, the GDPR has significantly improvedhow organizations process personal dataThe GDPR has lost its deterring effect over the past five yearsThe GDPR is mainly a bureaucratic exercise, but did not improve userprivacy muchDecision makers think that there is a significant risk of DPAenforcement actionCompanies that do not focus on making profits from data are largelyGDPR compliantCompanies that rely on personal data to make profits are largely GDPRcompliant
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%120%

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Release date

December 2023

Region

EU

Survey time period

November 2023

Number of respondents

1,048 respondents

Special properties

among data protection officers (DPOs) and professionals working in the field of GDPR compliance

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