The Regulatory Landscape

Privacy regulations have transformed how businesses must handle personal data. For file sharing services, this creates significant obligations—and potential liabilities.

Key Regulations

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

Applies to: EU residents' data, regardless of where processed

Key requirements:

Lawful basis: Must have legitimate reason to process data

Data minimization: Collect only what's necessary

Storage limitation: Don't keep data longer than needed

Right to erasure: Users can request deletion

Breach notification: 72 hours to report breaches

Penalties: Up to €20 million or 4% of global revenue

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

Applies to: California residents' data

Key rights:

Right to know: What data is collected

Right to delete: Request data removal

Right to opt-out: Of data selling

Right to non-discrimination: For exercising rights

Other Regulations

LGPD (Brazil)

POPIA (South Africa)

PDPA (Singapore, Thailand)

PIPL (China)

Challenges for Traditional File Sharing

Data Storage Creates Liability

When you store user files, you become a data controller/processor:

Must track what data you hold
Must respond to access requests
Must delete on request
Must report breaches
Must implement security measures

The Compliance Burden

Traditional services must:

Map all data flows

Document processing activities

Maintain consent records

Conduct impact assessments

Appoint data protection officers

Implement retention policies

P2P: Inherent Compliance

No Data, No Problem

ZeroSend's architecture provides natural compliance:

Requirement

Traditional Approach

ZeroSend Approach

Data minimization	Policies & procedures	No data collected
Storage limitation	Retention schedules	Nothing stored
Right to erasure	Deletion processes	Nothing to delete
Breach notification	Incident response	No data to breach

Legal Analysis

Under GDPR, if you don't process personal data, you're not subject to its requirements. ZeroSend:

Doesn't collect personal information
Doesn't store transferred files
Doesn't maintain user accounts
Can't identify users

Data Subject Rights

With Traditional Services

When a user exercises their rights, services must:

Verify the user's identity

Search all systems for their data

Compile a comprehensive report

Delete data across all backups

Confirm completion

With ZeroSend

User: "Delete my data"
ZeroSend: "We don't have any data to delete."

Cross-Border Transfers

The Problem

Transferring data across borders (especially EU→US) requires:

Standard contractual clauses

Binding corporate rules

Adequacy decisions

Transfer impact assessments

P2P Solution

With direct device-to-device transfer:

Data doesn't cross through third-party servers

No jurisdictional questions about storage location

Users control where their data goes

Practical Implications

For Businesses

Using P2P file transfer for sensitive documents:

Reduces compliance scope

Minimizes breach risk

Simplifies audits

Lowers legal liability

For Individuals

Your data stays under your control
No third party to trust (or distrust)
Exercise your privacy rights by default

Conclusion

Privacy regulations are pushing toward data minimization. P2P file transfer isn't just a security choice—it's increasingly becoming the compliant choice for handling sensitive information.