Privacy is becoming increasingly important for members of society. As data is becoming more and more widespread, people are more worried about where their data is going, how it’s being used, and how it’s facilitated. As technology has been around for around a century, trends towards more privacy have been increasingly important.
Data Privacy Trends
1. AI Governance
There are many forms of threats that can hurt a company: one being a data breach or a hacker. With the risk of having data taken away, AI governance is becoming an increasingly important priority. It will help take in information about the patterns of consumers, employee behaviors and other key metrics. This way consumer data is far more protected by risks out of businesses control.
2. Centralized Privacy User Experience
People have started demanding more and more privacy rights. After case and case of data mismanagement, it is becoming an important ideal for many consumers. Therefore, many businesses need to create a portal with consent management for data. This way consumers have the option to allow management or disallow it. Either way, privacy UX such as cookies and notices can be more manageable when put under one page allowing for easier usage and better comprehension of data rules.
3. Privacy at home
As school was switched to virtual, jobs taken at home, and life completely shut down, COVID has changed the way data is used and regulated. Now that everything is centralized at home, privacy risks are becoming more paramount. Businesses should make sure they are not monitoring data 24/7 and keeping it to a minimum. By communicating and being transparent with the data used, employees can feel safe and secure with their data.
4. Consumer mistrust
Many customers mistrust businesses’ usage of data. They are often becoming more and more aware of the amount of data that is being mishandled. Often read in many fine prints in popular social media is the usage of personal data for things other than commercial use. This is becoming increasingly hazardous for typical data users. I mean take Facebook for example, they allowed around 87 million people’s data to get into other businesses’ hands. With their abuse of their stated terms and conditions, Facebook got sued with the mismanagement of consumer’s data.
5. Government action
With the increasing power businesses now have with data, governments have now taken it upon themselves to protect digital rights. By requiring companies to keep up with up to 27 online privacy bills, the government is taking a step towards our security. For example, according to The Washington Post, governments are “proposing a bill that would allow users to opt out of targeted advertisements and to sue internet companies that improperly sell their data.” This being one of the many bills being made, it is increasingly important that businesses start using consumer’s data in a more secure way.
Texas State Level Laws
- Texas Privacy Act: Created in 2019, this act makes companies tell consumers whether their data was leaked, within 60 days and if it affected more than 250 people.
- Student Privacy Act: This act took place in 2017 and protected students’ data. By disallowing companies to use and sell student’s data, the student privacy act keeps our children safe from personalized ads and data breaches
- Identity Theft Law: This law makes it illegal to steal someone’s identity. This forces businesses to make sure their company isn’t illegally used.
CCPA, California Consumer Privacy Act
- It gives california consumers the right to know what personal information a business takes and how it is used or distributed
- Allows California residents delete their information collected from businesses
- Allows residents to opt out of selling their personal information
- Allows residents to non-discrimiantion if they use their CCPA rights
Colorado Privacy Act
- Requires businesses to include an opt-out function towards personal data usage
- Gives the right for consumers to opt-out from the sale of personal dta
- Gives the right for consumers to know if personal data is benign collected
- Allows consumers to fix/edit personal data
- Allows consumers to delete their personal data
Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act
- Gives consumers the right to see their personal data
- Gives consumers the right to delete their personal data
- Gives consumers the right to edit their personal data
- Gives consumers the right to opt out of giving personal data
- Gives consumers the right to opt out of the sale of their personal data
Though just a couple examples of state level privacy regulation laws, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the rights of our children, our family and ourselves.
Federal Level Regulation
As of right now there are no federal laws that control data privacy in the US. But there seems to be an increase in localized regulation such as in states and counties. The Federal trade commission act however has come to regulate some data, and enforce some privacy laws. However, it doesn’t explicitly state that in its purpose.
With all this being said, consumer data privacy is increasingly becoming a big deal. Taking time to research and finding ways to secure consumer data can make your brand get more recognition and appreciation. To dive into data compliance in more depth check out our “Data Compliance – A Practical Guide”.