Data privacy is about ensuring that personal information is protected from being exploited. This includes how a person’s data is collected, how it is used, who has access to it, and what safeguards are in place. Data privacy issues are becoming more important as technology continues to evolve. Many companies rely on a large volume of data to provide personalized customer experiences, automated marketing messaging and science-driven insights. However, consumers are growing increasingly concerned about the safety of their personal data and want to have more control over how it is used.
When it comes to protecting their own privacy, most people think about how to control the information they voluntarily share with companies, like their name, contact details and online or real-world behavior. They also want to have control over whether their data is shared with third parties or not, and how it is stored digitally. The broader issue is that not enough is being done to protect the rights of individuals, despite the fact that there were 1,802 data breaches in 2022 impacting 422 million Americans (Source: Cisco).
Businesses are under increasing pressure to comply with ever-changing regulations that govern how their customer’s personal information is handled. These include Europe’s GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Some sectors are heavily regulated, such as healthcare, financial services and insurance, so their compliance is vital to continued business operations. However, even non-regulated sectors face scrutiny from government agencies and consumer protection groups for their handling of data.