Nearly two megabytes of new data enter the digital sphere every second, and each piece of information is a potential risk to business integrity and consumer trust. By implementing strong security measures, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and fostering a culture of privacy awareness within their organizations, businesses can mitigate the risks of data privacy breaches and build long-term relationships built on transparency and accountability.
Over-Collecting Personal Data
The most common privacy issue is a company collecting or using more data than they need. This could be a result of miscalculations or an attempt to optimize performance or increase revenue.
When this data is exposed to hackers, they can use it to commit identity theft and even sell it on the dark web. It’s a common problem for consumers, but it can also affect companies that collect and store sensitive information like personal health records or customer payment details.
Insufficient Transparency Around Data Collection and Use
Privacy regulations often require a clear explanation of how and why personal data is collected. This is usually outlined in policies such as a privacy policy, cookie policy or terms of use statement. When this isn’t done, it can leave a business open to privacy violations and non-compliance fines.
Another way to avoid these issues is to be transparent with users and give them the opportunity to opt-in or out of data collection. Having clear opt-in and opt-out options shows your audience that you respect their right to privacy, which can help strengthen your brand’s relationship with them. iubenda makes this process easier with our simple view of legal documents, so your users can see what data you are collecting and why without the hassle of reading long, technical documents.