Data Privacy Day: Tips for Complying with Data Privacy Laws

To celebrate Data Privacy Day, businesses should take a moment to be aware of all the data privacy laws which might affect them and consider how their business is impacted. Do you understand all the standards that you’re (supposed) to abide by? Are you doing what you need to?

Businesses have a lot to worry about when it comes to data privacy and data security. Learn more about them and how your business can protect its customers in our blog, What’s the Difference Between Data Privacy and Data Security?

Why is it Important to Adhere to Data Privacy Laws?

Before we get into how you can keep track of data privacy laws, let’s discuss why it’s so important for businesses to adhere to them.

The most obvious reason these laws are important is to prevent data theft and protect yourself from the penalties associated with having data stolen on your watch. Companies that collect public data are obligated to protect it (the basis for data privacy laws) and can be held responsible when breaches occur.

Let’s face it, most members of the public aren’t tech-savvy and have very little understanding of the security risks posed by giving away their information. Some may not even know that it’s being collected at all. To protect them from having their data weaponized, sold, misused, or held for ransom to hurt them, data privacy laws are in place.

Data privacy laws can generally be sorted into a few main categories:

1. Data Collection: Some laws aim to prevent companies from misusing data by regulating which kinds of information can be collected.
2. Data Sharing: Other laws restrict a company’s ability to sell or share collected data.
3. Data Theft/Misuse: Lastly, these laws penalize businesses who fail in their effort to protect data by having it stolen or using it improperly.

Examples of Data Privacy Laws

There are a few data privacy laws that most people will have already heard of which give you a good idea of what these laws regulate.

For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulates how covered entities (healthcare providers, hospitals, clearinghouses) treat protected health information (PHI) and protect patient data in the healthcare industry.

Additionally, California has its own set of consumer data privacy laws (the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA) as does the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with its FTC Act.

There are dozens of different data privacy laws in place across many industries, countries, states, and even cities, making it very tough for businesses to keep track of it all.

How to Ensure Your Business Adheres to Data Privacy Laws

To make sure you’re doing everything you must to protect data, it’s important to understand where the data privacy laws come from, what they entail, and how you can implement the necessary solutions.

Here are a few tips to help you wrap your head around some common data privacy laws found throughout the country.

1. Research Your State’s Laws and Regulations

To wrap your head around data privacy, it helps to start small. This means understanding what local (city, county, and state) laws you might be required to meet. For example, as mentioned above, the CCPA is a law specifically designed to protect the data of California’s consumers. If you don’t sell to Californians or are based elsewhere, you won’t need to worry too much about it.

But most states have their own versions of this type of law. Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia also have strong data privacy laws in place and most other states have at least something regulating how data is collected, stored, and used.

2. Understand the Federal Data Laws

Next, look at some of the federal laws. While there is no sweeping regulation for this, there are a handful of federally-backed data privacy laws in place.

For example, the FTC Act has broad commercial jurisdiction over businesses and forces organizations to implement and maintain reasonable data security measures, abide by privacy policies, provide sufficient security for personal data, and avoid engaging in misleading practices.

Other federal privacy laws include:

• The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which protects minors’ information
• HIPAA
• The Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) which governs data collected by banks and financial institutions
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) which regulates credit information
• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which protects student information

3. Understand the Data Privacy Laws in Your Industry

As you’ve probably noticed in the descriptions of some of these data privacy laws, many of them are industry-specific. That’s why it’s also important to understand your own industry and which laws are relevant.

For example, if you’re in healthcare, HIPAA will be very important to understand and become compliant with. In banking, you’d pay close attention to GLBA and FCRA. If you’re in education, you’d want to know FERPA by heart.

This is another way to break it down and make it more digestible and easier to understand which laws will directly affect your business.

Get Expert Help

If all of this seems extremely complex and impossible to manage, that's because it is. Cybersecurity is still in its infancy and government bodies are still deciding on what their roles will be in protecting people’s data and privacy going forward. That’s why it may seem like there are new laws springing up all the time and that there isn’t one defining set of rules that everybody plays by.

To make it simple for business owners, it’s a good idea to seek the help of a team of experts to act as your partner and consultant when deciding what you need to do to protect your customer’s information. If you have a team of IT or cybersecurity experts, get them involved early on to prepare your data security strategy.

If you don’t, partnering with an experienced MSSP for data security protection services can get you access to data privacy and cybersecurity specialists that can guide you to a more secure future where you don’t have to worry about the fines and penalties associated with data theft.

Learn more about data privacy, data security, and what you can do to achieve both in our blog, What’s the Difference Between Data Privacy vs. Data Security.