On May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect, requiring companies that process personally identifiable information of EU residents to comply with a significant number of enhanced data-protection requirements. One of these requirements is an individual’s “right to explanation” of an algorithmic decision made about him or her by a machine. This right will affect companies that monitor the behavior of European residents for data-subject “profiling”, meaning any form of automated processing of personal data that can evaluate a person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests, reliability or behavior, location or movements. Fines for violating the GDPR can include up to €10 – €20 million.
