With the role that big data is playing in industries and the private sector, it comes as no shock that privacy laws are being implemented and enforced more strictly. The introduction of privacy laws has had significant effects on the way companies conduct businesses, solicit services, and influencing data base mapping of client information.

To help you put in context why your business should comply with privacy laws, our team has put together this article.

The legal context

Legislation such as the GDPR and CCPA provides for guidelines on possible all levels of organizational and client information; from the tools to be used to the systems to the processes. It also provides for penalties and fines that should be meted out to companies and individuals who don’t adhere to these provisions.

It is recommended that companies and brands should either have a legal team on board or have an expert on retainer. Your legal team/ advisor should be able to interpret the provisions of said legislation and break it down to you in a way that you can comprehend.

Use of client information

One of the guidelines of the new privacy laws is consent management. These are forms that explicitly state to users the information how you as a company are going to use data collected from them. It also includes which data is going to be collected, for how long, if it is going to be shared with third parties, and after how long it will be discarded.

A business should have a consent management platform in place to guide them in the collection and use of information.

Location of your business and your customers

In a typical business set-up, a company is incorporated to offer services or products to a market niche in the market. But sometimes, due to competitiveness, one may find oneself dabbling in different markets. Such a scenario may hurt you and your company due to the location specifics of privacy laws.

For example, the GDPR applies to websites that serve clients and consumers who are within the European Union. The same applies to the CCPA and the state of California. And this is regardless of the location of the server or organization.

Given this information, businesses need to know which jurisdiction they are operating in and the laws that guide their business operations. As you can see it’s crucial to find an answer to ‘what is data mapping’.

The inevitability

Ever since the implementation of the GDPR in Europe, countries far and wide have been considering how to regulate data processes and user privacy. There also have been scandals of data hacking and breaches all over the world. Over the next decade or so, expect more and more countries to put in place data privacy laws.  

Conclusion

Compliance with data privacy laws is an inevitable process for organizations that must operate in the virtual space. To stay up to date on data-related information such as cybersecurity law, and data protection, reach out to an expert today.