Data Privacy Day 2021

Data Privacy Day is a global program that endeavors at spreading awareness regarding the importance of privacy. It also helps in highlighting simple ways that can be used to safeguard personal information. 

This specific day is observed on 28^th January each year. Dwelling into the history, the Data Privacy Day commenced in Canada and the United States in 2008 as an extension of the celebration in Europe. 

However, it commemorates 28^th January 1981 when the Convention 108 – the first legal international treaty focusing on privacy and data protection – was signed. For 2021, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is encouraging people to “Own Your Privacy” by self-learning more about how valuable data can be protected online. 

It’s also inspiring businesses to “Respect Privacy” that asks organizations to be responsible for keeping the personal information of individuals safe from unauthorized access and keeping legitimate, relevant and fair data collection as well as processing. 

As far as the importance of data is concerned, it can be gauged from the fact that when private data gets into wrong hands, there can be several repercussions to it. For instance, a data breach in an organization can put sensitive information into the hands of enemies, competitors or even criminals. Thus, keeping it safe is highly essential. 

How to Manage User Data Privacy on WordPress?

For webmasters and website owners, there seems to be nothing more complicating than handing users and data. If you fail to manage your users in the correct way, they may end up inflicting damage and loosen security protocols. 

Thus, to ensure your target audience adheres by your site requirements, you must first learn how to manage user data privacy. And for that, complying by the privacy laws, such as GDPR, EU cookie laws, CCPA, and more is the first step to take. 

What is GDPR?

Abbreviated for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one European Union (EU) law that took effect on 25^th May 2018. The primary objective of this law is to provide control to EU citizens over personal data and alter the methodology of organizations across the globe. In a way, GDPR helps companies to:

• Inform the national supervisory authority in 72 hours of a data breach that has put people at risk
• Develop data protection safety into applications and products
• Apply same rules on every board while offering services or products within the EU
• Comply with only one European law for data protection

Also, complying to GDPR enables companies and organizations to become the best versions. They get to relearn how to develop top-of-funnel engagement and awareness without using the data of people as a crutch. 

GDPR compels companies to think over how their data is flowing. They also need to let people know how they’re holding data, collecting it and using it. 

What is EU Cookie Law?

In simple words, EU cookie law is all about what service providers, companies and websites are allowed to do with the digital data. It also outlines what these people can and cannot do without the consent of people. Complying with this law allows websites to:

• Take consent from visitors before storing cookies
• Let the visitors know how their cookies will be handled and used 
• Allow visitors to opt-out of giving the consent with no issues in website surfing afterwards
• Enable visitors to change and revoke their cookie preferences afterwards

What is CCPA?

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is applied to those businesses and companies that are operating in California and either:

• Making $25 million or more in a year
• Purchasing or selling the personal information of 50,000 or more customers, devices, or households
• Earning more than half the annual revenue by selling personal data of consumers

As per the law, any California resident is eligible for getting the complete list of data that a business has about them and with whom this data is being shared. 

Importance of Privacy Pages on Websites:

1. An Opportunity to be Transparent:

When it comes to the information of clients, being completely transparent will help you establish comfort and trust between you and the clients, allowing them to consider you as a credible source. 

By sharing trusted and authentic information regarding what type of data you’re collecting and how it will be used is only going to integrate confidence in your target audience. 

2. A Way to Create Reassurance:

With internet users becoming more conscious of the vitality of being protective toward their personal information, it has become more imperative for websites to display adequate policies. 

Whether you’re merely collecting email IDs or sensitive information, such as card details, IP addresses, and more; it is necessary to keep your visitors into the loop. Considering a rise in data breaches, users have developed an expectancy that you’ll let them know important factors. 

Thus, by displaying a privacy policy, you create a sense of reassurance among customers that their data is in the right hands. 

3. Helps Building Customer Relationships:

Privacy policies and disclaimers help businesses develop customer relations as the latter believe that they can invest their complete confidence in the former. To support effective growth, websites must showcase updated privacy policies the moment somebody arrives on the site. 

Apparently, such an effort has shown to directly improve the confidence levels between online visitors and business websites. 

4. Keep Your Businesses Protected:

Having a privacy policy on the website also safeguard you from possibilities of legal implications that your business may run into or from getting sued. In case you face legal issues, the privacy policy will act as a backbone and will support your stance by giving needed proofs and evidence. 

Also, not just for a website, even if you’re operating an app, having a privacy policy is a recommended, smart idea. 

Moral and Ethical Importance of Data Privacy:

In the current scenario, when businesses across the world have extraordinary, almost unfiltered access to personal data, they are now facing quite an essential question regarding the morals and ethics of data privacy, collection and use. 

These days, collecting data of consumers is nothing but normal. A majority of companies are using the information to learn more about their customers so as to encourage repeat purchases as well as loyalty. 

However, what matters the most is how and why data is being collected, how it is being protected from the company’s side and whether or not customers get to put their opinions into the usage of information. 

Legislation like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) are some of the initial steps toward requiring businesses and companies to adopt ethical data privacy practices. 

In these jurisdictions, businesses are obligated to reveal information that they have accumulated regarding an individual upon their request, including a comprehensive list of third parties with whom the information has been shared. 

Possibly, most importantly, when somebody demands to erase their data, a company has to either comply or face legal consequences. While such regulations may see wider adoption, however, that’s not enough to protect data. 

Companies must proactively take a stand on how they’ll be handling the data that they’re going to collect. Since the commoditization of data doesn’t seem to end anytime sooner, it’s only up to businesses to acquire and profit from such data so as to engage with customers directly and establish protection that the consumers will trust. 

In a Nutshell:

Currently, both the companies and the consumers are standing at crossroads for ethics and privacy. Across the world, there are several debates being held in government hallways, living rooms and conference rooms regarding the impact of data privacy. 

However, the truth is personal data has to be protected at every cost. And for that, both the parties must contribute their bits.