Data privacy centers on the right to protect personal information like email addresses, biometrics and credit card numbers. It requires organizations to be transparent and clear about if and how their data is being used. In addition, they should allow individuals to control and change their preferences at any time. This data protection strategy also includes security processes such as multi-factor authentication and ensuring that only authorized users can access data.
Regulatory legislation drives much of the data privacy practices today. This is driven by governments recognizing the negative impacts that data breaches can have on their citizens and economies. In addition, regulations like the GDPR and COPPA create compliance requirements that organizations must follow.
In addition, there is a massive push toward pushing data privacy laws at the state level in the U.S. This patchwork of laws is often sector specific and involves things like telecommunications, health, financial institutions and marketing. The laws range from requiring opt-in (affirmative) consent for all data to enforcing a specific set of rights for consumers.
The laws are complex and require companies to invest in legal advice, privacy professionals and compliance tools. In some cases, it’s necessary for companies to be able to respond quickly to consumer requests because many states have statutory deadlines for businesses to honor their requests. These laws may also specify that if a business is unable to honor a request, it must have a process for consumers to appeal its denial.