Data privacy is a term that is thrown around more frequently nowadays than it used to be even a decade ago, and for the right reasons. We are more connected nowadays than we ever were, and this proliferation of the internet into every nook and cranny of our daily lives has made the topic of data privacy a critical one.
Businesses know a lot about us, in fact, more than we can ever fathom about ourselves, and until a few years ago, there were no concrete methods of tackling them due to the absence of any legislation or guidelines for the same.
That scenario has changed immensely over the last few years and several countries around the world have introduced data privacy regulation that serves to regulate the complexities involved. While the European Union has certainly taken the lead in enforcing data protection regulations, other countries worldwide, especially the USA, are doing the same as well.
Here, we will look at some of the significant data privacy regulations that are being enforced worldwide daily, and how a comprehensive privacy suite can help comply with these laws. So, let’s start.
The GDPR.
When it comes to data privacy regulations, the GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulations is treated as the benchmark. These were enforced by the European Union in 2018, and this applies to all the countries that fall within the geographical area of the European Union and the European Economic Area. The GDPR is a data protection and privacy law that was introduced with the motive of enhancing the control that users have over their online data, and accordingly, there are numerous titles and provisions that the GDPR allows for. This also gives the user, control over how their data is being used and harvested and expresses their consent regarding the same as well.
There are several rules and regulations that this act encompasses, and businesses need to adhere to these regulations to be able to operate on the right side of the law. Now, doing these manually can prove to be a gargantuan task, and thus, one can employ tools and systems that can automate the compliance procedure. This wouldn’t just help save costs and resources but deliver optimal compliance performance as well.
The CCPA.
Hopping the pond, one of the first privacy regulations to be implemented in the USA was by the state of California in the form of the California Privacy Rights Act. California is one of the most advanced states when it comes to adopting and implementing regulations that protect the privacy of consumers and their data. According to this law, any business that operates in the state of California, or earns a certain portion of its revenue from the processing and gathering of data, would have to comply with these regulations.
Recently, the law has been revised, and the CPRA, or California Privacy Rights Act would be complementing the CCPA, being installed as the primary data protection regulation in the state. The CPRA aims to regulate how consumer data is collected and used by companies in greater detail than what the CCPA was meant to achieve.
Besides these, states like Virginia and Colorado in the USA have come up with their independent set of data protection regulations that are in the process of being implemented. Unlike other countries like Australia or regions like the EU, the USA doesn’t have a federal data protection regulation that encompasses all the states. In the absence of worldwide and unified legislation regarding data protection, tools like CMP, DSAR, etc. perform a crucial role in adapting a company’s operations and privacy policies to suit the data protection and privacy policies with which the company happens to be dealing.
Besides the aforementioned regulations, several other countries have implemented their privacy laws, something that we will be taking a look at here.
- Australia- Outside the USA and the EU, Australia is a pioneering country that has implemented a data privacy policy of its own. According to the rules that they have implemented, companies that earn an annual turnover of 3 million AUD would have to report any significant data breach that poses a serious threat, and failure to do so would result in a hefty fine.
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- It was in September 2021, that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia passed the Personal Data Protection Law. Being one of the first adopters of data privacy regulation in the region, Saudi Arabia decided to base their regulations on some of the other, older regulations that were implemented in other parts of the world, with a significant local touch as well. Enforced in the month of March 2022, the PDPL has introduced registration requirements, record-keeping requirements, etc. and this law would apply to businesses that operate within the country, or processes the personal data of Saudi nationals primarily.
- Nigeria- One of the first countries in the continent of Africa to have a privacy policy, Nigeria enacted the NDPR or the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation. Just like India’s privacy law, the NDPR takes on the spirit of the GDPR, albeit with certain conditions and changes that were made to suit their local needs and necessities.
Final take:
Data privacy is one of the most contentious issues to be taken up by countries and legislations across the world, and several laws are being implemented for the same as well. For businesses, comprehensive data protection and tools are absolutely essential if they want to operate in these areas while being compliant with local privacy laws as well.
