9 Approaches To Complying With Evolving Data Privacy Regulations

Data privacy’s current state is becoming much more complicated. Data privacy is constantly changing as technology evolves, and the need to protect customer data is becoming much more crucial. Today we are going to talk about data privacy regulations and how to comply with them.

Consumers expect privacy protection for sensitive data related to healthcare, financial institutions, and for several other industries during every transaction.

What are the approaches we can take to meet evolving data privacy regulations? 

Let’s find out more in this article! 

9 Approaches For Complying With Data Privacy Regulations 

1. Read Updated Privacy Regulations 

As data flows from the first intake to the other parts of an organization or becomes mixed with different data sets and metrics, it’s best for data privacy regulations to integrate with all levels to ensure appropriate measures are taken. 

You’d be surprised that there are still organizations that don’t know anything about privacy laws or even don’t know enough about them. According to data collected by Cisco, 33% of customers stop purchasing from or interacting with websites because they feel that businesses collecting their data aren’t responsible enough. 

So, it’s also essential for you to read about data privacy regulations and ensure this doesn’t happen to you. Always read privacy regulations to look out for any updates.

Here are what data protection regulations share: 

• Protecting user’s personal information.
• Collecting user’s personal information, being fully transparent about it.
• Defending sensitive information against any unauthorized usage, internally and externally.

Examples of data privacy regulators in the world include:

• GDPR 
• State-level regulators in the United States, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) 

The General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) is a data privacy regulator responsible for businesses operating in the EU or within EU territories. So, for example, if you live in the United States but do business with an EU country, the GDPR will still apply to you. 

On the other hand, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) applies to all businesses operating within Californian borders and those who conduct business in it. 

Alternatively, you have many other privacy acts around the world. So, if you are in Europe, you must comply with the GDPR, but if you are in the United States or elsewhere, you must comply with your local privacy laws. If you need a hand, consider hiring an expert that can continuously keep you updated on any changes. 

2. Read More About First-Party Cookies 

Many business owners will endlessly talk about third-party cookies, but the trend is shifting. According to Google, many large companies including themselves will ban third-party cookies by 2024. 

2023 is just around the corner, so keep an eye out for any browsers informing you about not using third-party cookies.

On the other hand, we have first-party cookies, the new trend. First-party cookies allow the site itself to collect data and not any outsiders. This is not the case with third cookies. 

For a detailed guide to the differences between first and third-party cookies, you can read more on Osano.com.

3. Build Your Foundation 

You always need to know to whom you grant customer data access. Look at your personal data and assess what needs to be done. You need to trust the person handling the data because internal breaches can also happen. Here are a few questions you can ask during the time you form a foundation for how you’ll process personal data: 

• Who is collecting the data? 
• What information is being stored?
• Who is selling, receiving, and transferring sensitive information? 

Data inventories are the foundation for gathering information needed to support other essential activities, such as determining high-risk processes, collecting data to inform data subject request practices, or establishing a data minimization program to prioritize efforts. 

4. Evaluate Privacy Risks 

After implementing new requirements, regulators are concerned about the type of practices you undertake to assess privacy risks and comply with them. Above all, it’s essential to establish assessment practices for evaluating high-risk processing and document the assessment results. For instance, the CCPA clarifies that cybersecurity audits are performed on an enterprise level and for assets that collect personal data. 

Additionally, companies should keep in mind what they will provide to regulators, including the documentation of risk assessment. 

5. Hire Legal Counsel 

If you want to avoid having to deal with data privacy laws all the time, hire legal counsel. After all, all organizations should have one that can help them fully comply with business operations and data privacy law updates. But unfortunately, it’s a fact that you are always busy with other tasks in your business, so it might be pretty challenging for you to keep up with the latest information and updates. 

Consent forms with consent management are an excellent option to keep yourself clean from any impending legislation, including everything happening while you are using the data, the amount of time the data needs to stay in the organization, and how it’ll be adjusted. In short, all regulations and laws that include buying data need to be implemented and developed. 

6. Cloud Security Alliance 

Technology and data privacy regulatory compliances are evolving fast. All businesses (including yourself) should pay special attention to all recent security compliance control guides, such as the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). 

The CSA implements the top practices for fully secure cloud computing and assists cloud solution providers in complying with data privacy regulations. 

7. Set Your Privacy As A Top Priority 

If you want to stay updated with new changes, you need to have the right level of preparation. In addition, your business needs to meet the level of data protection requirements and ensure that you are in a great position to adapt to local, state, and federal privacy requirements. 

In other words, it’s a good idea to make privacy your priority. It’s not something only your legal counsel or data specialist should care about. It’s an essential factor for all businesses and should be a priority from you to other employees. In other words, it should be a culture within your organization. 

When you take data privacy seriously, consumer trust can be built in the long term.

8. Take Online Courses 

If you do not know too much about data privacy laws, you can always take online courses to learn more. So, while you sit down and listen to what the instructor has to say, you can write down what they are saying when listening. An additional advantage is that if you choose to do everything independently, without the help of an outside firm or legal counsel, you’ll eventually know how to do so! 

9. Put Your Practices Into Action 

If you want to make the right approach regarding data privacy, ensure that you put all of your practices into action:

• Get The Proper Legal Guidance: You can’t be good at data privacy until you get the appropriate advice. In short, ensure you fully understand privacy laws and what you need to follow so if any changes happen, you can adjust to them. 
• Set Up Data Mapping: Data mapping shows you the type of data you have, so it allows you to match up with it and comply with regulations. 
• Invest In Data Governance And Compliance: Start out by choosing a tool that will allow you to create and manage compliance policies. Look out for any legal-oriented tools with excellent track records, that are always up to date, and that seek to cover as many regulations as possible. 
• Make Data Privacy Default: Companies prioritizing data privacy will have an easier time adjusting to new regulations and implementing new strategies. Don’t seek to create policies and use data for selling it to third parties. This is a common thing many companies due, but it’s not suitable for the long term. 

Wrapping It All Up

Data privacy regulations might get updated frequently, making you constantly adjust. Sometimes, there might not be any adjustments, but it’s essential to keep an eye out to avoid getting “surprised.” Also, avoid paying too much attention to third-party cookies; someday, they might not even be around anymore! 

Instead, focus on first-party cookies and ensure your users have maximum control over their data!