Data is a vital economic driver that delivers more advancement and value to a company. It has the potential to take them to new heights if handled and studied accurately. However, that same data can also expose businesses to risks if left unexplored and unsecured.
With so many data protection laws coming into effect or already implemented, companies need to know how these privacy laws affect their business and what they can do to comply with them. Here’s a brief breakdown of five data privacy laws that could affect your business.
European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation originated in May 2018 and has had a massive ripple effect on businesses. Often considered one of the world’s most stringent data privacy laws, the GDPR’s guidelines impact any organization operating inside or outside the EU that offers goods or services or monitors the behavior of consumers within EU territories. The laws enforced by the GDPR refer to rights and freedoms granted to the data subject or individual user by the “data controller” and “data processor.”
The EU data protection law encompasses EU citizens’ data globally. Companies that fail to comply could receive fines of up to €20 million or 4% of their annual global turnover per violation.
California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 (CCPA)
Since the US still has no established data privacy laws, most states have put forward their own laws to tackle the issue. The California Consumer Privacy Act empowers Californian end users by granting them more authority over the personal information businesses gather. The CCPA regulations offer stipulated guidelines on how to implement the law correctly.
The law doesn’t require companies to have a physical office in California and applies to all profit-generating businesses offering their goods and services to California residents. A California resident refers to a natural person who’s a resident of California, even if the person is temporarily outside the state.
The CCPA law aims to fortify the privacy rights of California consumers. For example, it gives clients the right to know about:
- All the private information businesses store on them.
- How this information is used and distributed.
- The option to delete any confidential information gathered.
- A possibility to opt out of the sale of their classified information.
- The right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.
UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018)
Due to Brexit, the Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK’s implementation of the EU’s GDPR. DPA 2018 regulates how corporations, businesses, and even the government use the consumer’s private data. Under the DPA 2018, end users have the right to:
- Know the use of their confidential data.
- Have their data up to date.
- Erase their data.
- Stop or restrict the processing of specific private data.
- Oppose how their data is processed in certain circumstances.
- Have more control over their data when it comes to automated decision-making processes to predict behaviors or interests.
When it comes to DPA 2018’s laws, all businesses responsible for utilizing private data must abide by stringent rules known as “data protection principles.” Businesses must ensure that the information gathered is processed lawfully and fairly, based on the consumer’s consent. They also have to ensure that the processing is satisfactory, pertinent, and limited to only what is essential. Additionally, the information needs to be kept up to date and no longer than necessary.
Finally, there are more strict legal protection measures for more delicate data, such as race, ethnic background, religious beliefs, genetics, trade union membership, political opinions, health, and sex life or orientation.
The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA)
The California Privacy Rights Act compensates for the California Consumer Protection Act. The CPRA enacts even more stringent privacy protection obligations on businesses to amplify the rights of California consumers. The CPRA doesn’t replace the CCPA but offers an alternative take on privacy protection measures.
The CPRA will give clients more alternatives to opt out of targeted messages from businesses or third-party institutions to which they have given data. Furthermore, comprehensive requirements are outlined in the CPRA law that direct businesses to employ cautious data privacy administration systems and procedures. The objective of the CPRA law is to mainly offer Californians the sturdiest online privacy rights in the world, create an enforcement arm for end users, and make it tougher to dilute data privacy laws in the future.
Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA)
The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act came into legislation in March 2021, resulting in Virginia becoming the second state after California to officially endorse inclusive consumer data privacy laws. With the VCDPA outlined in just eight pages, it’s notably more abridged than the California Consumer Privacy Act. The VCDPA law grants Virginia consumers more influence over the private information that organizations gather regarding them and offers direction to businesses on how to fulfill heightened privacy protocols. The VCDPA is one of the four US data privacy laws that has received the green light of approval.
The VCDPA delimits how organizations process private data associated with an identifiable natural person residing in Virginia. The VCDPA also classifies certain data as confidential data, which encompasses private data such as racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, and mental or physical health diagnosis. The VCPDA also involves the processing of genetic and biometric data to identify a person, the personal data of relatives, and detailed geolocation data.
Privacy to Save Your Business
Since most data privacy laws can be difficult to understand, the first line of defense to protect your business is to use proxies. The most important feature of a proxy is anonymity, which is often crucial for businesses. Marsproxies offers the biggest proxy IP selection on the internet. Access to all these different proxies will ensure that all your information gets anonymized online, so it’s impossible to track.
This additional security layer significantly reduces the risks of your business unknowingly overstepping data privacy laws and avoiding lawsuits and hefty fines. Proxies can also secure data away from hackers. If you as a company have a responsibility to hold and maintain data safe from your consumers, then considering the use of a proxy would be the smart thing to do.
With a passion for working on disruptive products, Anas Baig is currently working as a product manager at Securiti.ai. He holds a degree in computer science and did his graduation from Iqra University. His interests include information security, privacy, security and data compliance.
The opinions expressed in this post belong to the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Information Security Buzz.