Why is Data Privacy Important in 2024?

Did you know that humans collectively produce about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day? Now that’s ASTØNISHING!

But is this data safe?

Not really; if you don’t keep your data safe, it could lead to countless data breaches and harm the responsible individuals who never signed up for this to happen.

That’s why it’s important to understand what data privacy entails. By the end of this article, you will know the importance of data privacy, the benefits of data privacy, and tips to follow.

What is data privacy?

Data privacy helps people balance control over how their personal information is shared or distributed. This cannot be understated because currently, as we speak, there are over 44 zettabytes of data in the digital verse.

And 70% of them are user-generated.

This is why data privacy regulations are gunning for an individual’s power and autonomy to ensure that personal information is not exploited or used without explicit consent.

Here, control comes from creating physical, social, or informational boundaries to stop unauthorized access, watching, or use. For example:

• A locked front door acts as a physical boundary, blocking entry without a key or someone granting access from inside
• An informational boundary, like a non-disclosure agreement, limits what information can be shared with others
• A members-only club sets a social boundary, giving exclusive access to its members for club resources or online services

Now, let’s understand the importance of data privacy.

Checkout: What Is Data Compliance And How Do We Implement It?

Why is data privacy important?

Data privacy matters because it protects personal integrity, builds trust in digital interactions, and defends the fundamental rights of individuals in a world that relies heavily on data. 

Here is why data privacy is important:

1. Dire financial consequences

When a data breach happens, it can hit your company hard in the wallet. Dealing with a breach can be expensive, involving investigations, fixing the mess, and maybe even going to court.

Plus, it’s not just the upfront costs – a breach without protection law can also mean less money coming in, slower work, and higher insurance bills.

2. Helps you comply with applicable data privacy laws

Data privacy laws can be a maze, but here’s the deal: they often safeguard people in a specific region but apply to companies everywhere under certain conditions. Your business might have to deal with laws like GDPR or CCPA depending on where you operate.

3. Helps gain the trust of the customer

Trust is a big deal, and that’s a no-brainer. Tech companies like Apple have built an empire around this protection regulation, and you know it.

So this is why it’s no surprise that when you make privacy a part of your deal or are upfront about handling data, you tend to win more trust and maintain better relationships with your customers.

Whenever there are privacy requests from customers, make sure to address them on priority as a part of regulatory requirements like CCPA or European Union GDPR. This will help you steer clear of any privacy concerns or legal implications.

4. Good data management

When you manage data well with privacy principles, you can make customers happier and give better support.

Key questions to shape your data management strategy:

• What are your specific objectives, and what problems will your strategy solve?
• Assess your company’s data skills and knowledge.
• How will you integrate and streamline data silos?
• Is real-time data essential for your operations?
• Determine the value of your data, such as the worth of an email address
• What are the basic steps you’re willing to take?

Data Privacy vs Others

Now let’s go into the details of what data privacy is and how it keeps your information from being shared or sold to hackers. It’s also important to understand the differences between data privacy and other categories around it.

Let’s take a look at those:

Data Privacy vs Data Security

Data Privacy	Data Security
Data privacy is about the control people have over their information. This includes how data is handled, focusing on getting consent, providing notice, and meeting regulatory obligations.	Data security involves setting up basic cybersecurity measures to keep data safe from unauthorized access, changes, or damage.
Ensuring people’s data rights and processing personal information legally, fairly, and transparently. It is also about keeping things secure and respectful against personal data breaches.	Keeping data safe involves safeguarding it from unauthorized access, whether they’re external cyber threats or internal risks.

Data privacy in GDPR

The GDPR’s Chapter 3 outlines data privacy rights and principles for individuals under EU law. As a company, you must uphold these rights, or you may face penalties (see “GDPR fines“). Here’s a basic breakdown of the key points:

1. Clear communication

When processing data on social media platforms or others, you must explain the process clearly, concisely, and easily understandable. This includes providing a privacy notice.

2. User requests

Make it easy for individuals to make requests, such as the right to erasure. Respond promptly and adequately to these requests to keep up with comprehensive privacy laws.

3. Information at collection

When collecting personal data from a business perspective, communicate specific information to users. Even if you obtain the information indirectly, similar details must be provided for processing activities.

4. Data Subjects’ Rights

Individuals have the right to know details about data processing, including the data source, purpose, and retention period. Crucially, they have the right to access the personal data processed by private companies.

Overall, the GDPR applies to companies established or with an EU branch that processes personal data. It also extends to companies outside the EU monitoring or handling the personal data of EU citizens for business success.

Data Privacy and HIPAA

In HIPAA, data privacy is a big deal. The Privacy Rule’s main aim is to ensure an individual’s health information stays safe while allowing the necessary flow of data for quality healthcare.

As you know, the healthcare field is diverse, so the rule is flexible and contains many details covering various uses and disclosures. This is especially true for covered entities:

• Healthcare organizations must put in measures to safeguard PHI
• There are conditions and limits on the disclosure and use of PHI, and patient permission is a no-brainer
• Also, the HIPAA rule outlines the standards such as the healthcare provider’s fundamental right to block access to PHI, patient rights to obtain PHI or personal details, the content of privacy practice notices, and the use of disclosure online forms.
• All your employees must undergo security training annually on these policies and procedures and document the training. This way, everyone understands and follows the privacy compliance rules.

Types of data privacy

Privacy rights take different forms, each crucial in safeguarding personal information. Types of data privacy help you satisfy legal obligations and loss prevention.

Here is the list of data privacy types you must know:

1. Online Privacy

A recent survey by AnchorFree, reveals that 95 percent of Americans are worried about businesses collecting and selling their personal information without permission.

Online privacy, as defined, is the traditional data protection individuals get while connected to the Internet. It includes the security of personal and financial data, communications, and preferences.

This has major undertones with the rise of online activities; consumers are constantly sharing information, making purchases, and using various connected devices.

They willingly share preferences on social media and search sites. However, tech companies, device manufacturers, apps, internet connection operators, and mobile operators collect this flood of customer data for use or to be sold to other businesses.

This growing connectivity has heightened people’s concerns about online privacy compliance and legal consequences.

Also checkout: Three tips for avoiding the consequences of non-compliance

2. Residential information privacy

This pertains to a citizen’s residence and cost of living details. If your company somehow collects any personal property information of the clients, make sure to put in enough security measures to keep it safe and confidential.

3. Medical privacy

Protecting a user’s medical records is paramount. It should remain confidential. Maintaining doctor-patient confidentiality is essential to uphold medical privacy policies. It is a part of very strict compliance requirements called HIPAA.

4. Financial privacy

Financial companies who collect information from websites or organizations should store and protect it securely. Mishandling this data without applicable regulations can lead to consequences for companies, like credit card fraud by hackers.

What’s Next?

Prioritizing your customers sets you apart from other cloud service providers. It means respecting their data and offering control over its usage through proper protection laws. When you weave data privacy into your brand strategy, you establish your brand as trustworthy and transparent. This enhances your brand’s reputation and legal compliance.

In this article, we discussed the benefits of data privacy rights; however, more than managing privacy alone is needed. You need to employ powerful automation and privacy procedures to track updates and changes.

This is where Sprinto comes in. Sprinto is a compliance automation platform built for cloud services that helps you with compliance and safeguards your customer privacy by default.

Sprinto deploys continuous monitoring measures and common control mapping with automated evidence collection.

If anything is missing, Sprinto immediately alerts you and sends a notification to be addressed promptly for business continuity. 

FAQs

1. Why should you keep personal information private?

Your personal information is a gold mine for malicious hackers as they can sell it for mo. This is why it is imperative to keep your personal information or information related to clients private.

2. What are the effects of no privacy?

The effects of no consumer privacy will be very dangerous. Modern businesses can suffer a lot from this. So, it’s always better to keep data privacy in high regard.

3. Why is data privacy an ethical issue?

Data privacy is an ethical issue because, according to the digital ethics of privacy principles, you must adhere to an individual’s wishes about using their data (like selling or distributing it). This is why it can become an ethical issue.

4. How could data be misused?

Data could be misused in several ways, spanning from advertising, blackmail, or even constant surveillance. This is why traditional data protection policies exist with proper collection limitations on personal data collection.