As with many global events, Data Privacy Day serves as a reminder of how people and businesses should be acting all the time to respect data privacy.
Data Privacy Day is here! This global day is an international effort to empower individuals and encourage businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data, and enable trust. As with many global events, Data Privacy Day serves as a reminder of how people and businesses should be acting all the time to respect data privacy. In the spirit of the day, we have some tips for actions you can undertake as a business executive:
- Become fluent in the language of data privacy. Do you know what Personally Identifiable Information is? The difference between a Cookie and the Cookie Directive? The difference between Opt-in and Opt-out? These are some of the many terms that C-level executives need to start learning. It’s no longer acceptable to assume someone else in your organization understands the vagaries of data privacy. Mistakes with data privacy can cost a business dearly – both financially and reputation-wise.
- Build bridges with your data privacy czar. Most businesses have a privacy czar now – someone with the title chief compliance officer, chief security officer, or both. Having a strong relationship with your privacy czar will help you become fluent, understand changes in the law, and, more importantly, ensure that your company is respecting consumer privacy. Ensure that your privacy czar has a voice in your company’s decisions, ranging from new product launches to mergers and acquisitions. Every decision you make now has an impact on data privacy, and vice versa.
- Own your data privacy strategy. Your data privacy czar needs to partner with you to formulate and execute your data privacy strategy. But if you are a C-level executive, you need to hold yourself accountable as an owner of that strategy. What does that mean? If you are a CEO, it means personally understanding every dimension of that plan and considering yourself the ultimate approver. If you are a peer to the data privacy czar, owning the strategy means incorporating that strategy into your own department – including your own planning and success metrics.
- Consider getting outside help. Data privacy is so complex that it’s not always easy ensuring you are compliant in every aspect of your business. A number of companies (Investis Digital included) offer solutions to help you navigate the privacy landscape and ensure compliance. Vet them carefully. Study their track record and find out how they stay abreast of privacy themselves. This is a dynamic topic with fast-changing rules. Your partner needs to be more up to date than you are.
Being compliant is easier said than done. Don’t it alone. Find your allies, learn, and grow. Your company’s reputation depends on how well you respect data privacy.
Contact Invest Digital
As a provider of digital communications, we work in a highly regulated landscape. We host more than 2,000 websites. For that reason, we work with clients to ensure that they are meeting the latest regulatory requirements and respecting privacy. Contact us to learn how we can help you.