Privacy Compliance | Consent | Privacy | GDPR
Tristan Terlouw
Digital marketing strategy
Consent and Preference
Tristan Terlouw
Digital Marketing Strategy Nixon
Privacy compliance is a law implementing internal procedures to store data carefully and safeguard against misuse, breaches, and fines. These privacy laws safeguard customers in various countries by ensuring that data is handled correctly.
Everyone is familiar with the experience of viewing a website and receiving pop-up notices regarding cookies and privacy regulations, but why do they exist? Companies that collect and use consumers’ information have to do this to comply with data privacy laws.
So why do companies prioritize privacy compliance? Apart from the legal requirements in collecting data, data privacy is essential to customer trust and loyalty.
It is increasingly in the news, with more and more data leaks and breaches worldwide. Significant data breaches have occurred in recent years, including Marriott, T-Mobile, Quora, British Airways, and Capital One Bank in the U.S.
Read on to find out what privacy compliance is, why it is more important than ever, and how Nixon Digital can help your company become privacy compliant.
Privacy Compliance states how organizations meet regulatory and legal requirements for collecting, processing, and maintaining personal data regardless of industry. But Data privacy laws differ depending on geographical location, detailing how companies can handle personal data.
Violation of data privacy may lead to legal consequences and result in investigation and subsequent fines. It became a prevalent business concern due to increasing high-profile regulations such as the E.U.’s GDPR, California’s CCPA, and Canada’s PIPEDA.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, over 70% of countries have legislation to protect data and privacy. While most countries have a data compliance law, it varies from country to country. The data privacy rights also differ based on where your business is and where your customers are.
Some notable privacy compliance regulations include:
Other countries have their own data protection laws, such as:
So, research and comply with the privacy legislation of where your business is located and where the customers are.
Privacy compliance is essential because these laws are mandatory under jurisdictions in Europe, Australia, the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and other countries. These privacy laws apply to businesses that handle data, whether they own local-based businesses or not. So, if your website is processing data for any country with data law, we recommend you take privacy compliance seriously. Here are reasons why privacy compliance is a necessity:
The GDPR requires businesses dealing with E.U. citizens to have a clear privacy policy that explains how they handle user data. Users must have the option to opt out of data tracking using a cookie consent banner. The United States has a law called the California Privacy Regulation Act. Companies must let users see and delete their data by making a Data Subject Access Request.
According to an IBM survey, people believe that companies collecting personal information should take responsibility for explaining how the data is processed. 53% of users said they would only do business with companies that handle data correctly and protect them from cyberattacks. Respecting privacy laws ensures that you honor users’ fundamental right to privacy.
A well-written privacy policy clearly outlines data collection, storage, and sharing. Any questionable practices can harm a company’s reputation, as users don’t want intrusive advertisements and spam emails. Privacy compliance helps companies prevent negative publicity and maintain consumer trust. Remember the MySpace data breach? Those could have been avoided with limited data collection and a DPIA plan. By respecting privacy laws, you show your customers that you are a trustworthy business.
Take Apple, for example. The company emphasizes its commitment to user privacy and safety in its advertising. This strategy helps build trust with consumers. Apple is a respected and successful brand, while Android has faced criticism for data leaks. Investing in privacy compliance has overall benefits for your company, demonstrating that you care about user security.
Data breaches lead to stolen and misused sensitive information, damaging customer trust and incurring significant costs for data recovery. Neglecting user privacy has resulted in fines of up to $5 billion for some large companies. Privacy compliance requires strong data security measures. By complying with privacy laws, you can prevent data breaches and minimize the impact on your business. When a breach occurs, robust privacy protocols can limit data loss.
Many businesses collect complex data as part of their everyday operations and rely on analytics of this information to run their business. This type of data collection poses challenges for privacy compliance. It begins with identifying and categorizing business data accurately to determine which regulations are applicable.
Businesses need help identifying applicable international laws, establishing governance rules, and creating deletion schedules. They must put the proper infrastructure, management, and workforce in place to ensure Compliance. This can use up resources as companies need to update data management processes, redefine roles, and increase legal consultations to meet compliance rules. Of course, smaller businesses face privacy compliance challenges, mainly because they might need to be equipped to handle complex regulatory compliance mandates. Privacy compliance can be a differentiator for businesses. Companies should consider these factors when creating programs for managing information, ensuring data privacy, and training employees.
Privacy compliance must be clarified, and the regulations are hard to read. That is why we will give you some tips to become privacy compliant. The first step to becoming compliant is to implement the following components on your website:
These pages are the minimum when it comes to privacy. You could take it to the next level by including DSAR forms and a Subscription Services Agreement.
List the different data privacy rules that apply to your business. Consider regulations based on geographical location, industry, state or city laws, and rules for government contractors. This will help you avoid unfamiliar regulations.
Stay informed about changes in privacy regulations.
Sign up for newsletter updates from official compliance authorities associated with the regulations applicable to your business. For example, if you’re a healthcare professional, subscribe to updates from CQC (www.cqc.org.uk). Ensure that responsible parties receive updates to avoid overlooking important information.
This may seem the most logical thing to do, but social media is an excellent source of staying informed. Follow critical privacy experts who are constantly sharing information on current regulations.
Regularly review your data security practices, even for minor changes like adding new applications. Small changes in your digital environment can lead to non-compliance. When launching a website, ensure it aligns with I.T. and legal requirements. Temporary websites created for short-term marketing purposes can create compliance issues if they remain online after they are no longer relevant. Conduct an annual review of security measures and align them with privacy compliance for ongoing Compliance.
Conduct audits of your privacy policies and procedures, which serve as a set of rules for your staff members regarding their obligations, the privacy of personal information, and breach management. Conduct additional audits whenever there are updates to privacy regulations to ensure that policies meet new requirements.
Inform stakeholders in advance about upcoming privacy updates. It’s advisable to comply with new rules before they take effect. Assess three critical areas of your I.T. security: technical safeguards, administrative safeguards, and physical safeguards.
Ensure that employees are aware of changes in privacy policies that affect their roles. Incorporate updates into privacy training programs to keep employees well-informed. Document training activities, including the date, employees trained, and topics covered. In the event of a breach, this documentation may be helpful. Create a program for privacy compliance.
A privacy compliance program ensures your organization has the right tools and processes to protect data privacy. To achieve this, you need to consider the following:
A privacy compliance program is a commitment to following the best practices for data privacy, considering user concerns, regulatory requirements, and internal stakeholders. One important aspect of privacy compliance is handling user data properly. This involves adhering to regulations, protecting privacy, and efficiently storing the information.
While privacy laws may vary, there are general steps you can take to achieve privacy compliance:
Managing privacy compliance is more than implementing necessary systems by the law. It is also about maintaining and updating your website when there is a change in the law.
Building the privacy you need to protect customers can be extremely costly and time-consuming without a privacy compliance platform. Not only do companies protect information by ensuring you comply even as regulations change, but they also automate data security processes, including privacy policies, cookie consent, and data requests.
Privacy compliance is essential for several reasons. It helps you avoid costly fines, protects customers’ privacy rights, enhances your brand image, builds customer trust, and gives you a competitive advantage. On the flip side, failing to comply with privacy laws can result in severe consequences, including hefty fines and legal repercussions for your company. It is crucial to prioritize privacy compliance as it will continue to grow in importance.
It is essential that your users feel safe and comfortable sharing data on your platform. Therefore, you have a legal responsibility to protect the data of your data subjects.
You might be wondering what specific requirements and the scope of data processing activities are when choosing a solution now that you know what privacy compliance is.
The Nixon platform helps you with the Compliance of your customer-facing web applications. By fully automating this process, you are in complete control without the effort. With over 50 scanners, the platform will help businesses with an extensive website portfolio get an insight into their current data security practices and how to enhance them to meet regulatory requirements. Additional features and functionalities will help these organizations to navigate the jungle of data privacy regulations.
We can also offer you one of our experts on privacy and data protection legislation and organize training sessions for your entire company.
Do you know how to get your privacy compliant? Feel free to contact us. We offer insights about whether your customer-oriented applications are available and comply with internal and external regulations. We want to drink a (virtual) coffee together.
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