Data Privacy serves unquantifiable purposes for governments, enterprises, and even small businesses. These categories of data collectors use customer data to make strategic decisions, make predictions, and develop personalized services. The mode of data collection and the laxity of some entities towards data privacy cause customers to sometimes display skepticism and unwillingness at the point of data sharing. However, new privacy rules exist to curb organizations’ malpractices on customer data. This blog post will outline factors contributing to the new data privacy rules.

Factors Contributing to New Data Privacy Rules

We shall discuss the three major elements that influenced the change in data privacy rules.

1.      Government Decisions

Legislators in several countries are regulating the actions of companies who use artificial intelligence to interact with customer data. In China and California, for instance, legislators implemented the provisions of the GDPR (General Data Protection Rights) within their jurisdictions. In 2021 likewise, some state lawmakers passed at least 27 online privacy bills. These legislations now require organizations to up their privacy compliance games.

2.      Market Competition

The market is saturated with companies who want to reach as many target customers as possible. Since reaching this set of audiences will fetch companies’ data, they would do whatever they can, even if it means infringing customer rights at some points. Amid this menace, Apple upgraded its mobile operating system to help customers exercise their privacy rights. Even though this upgrade cost causes money loss in companies who use customer data, it is beneficial to customers. Moreover, this development will spur other companies to design their website or applications to give customers full control over their data.

3.      Customer Doubts

Transparently capturing customers’ data is beginning to become a thing of the past. Some companies who collect customers’ data directly also sell it to other companies. This non-consensual practice generates customer mistrust in companies and contributes to the need for new data privacy rules.

New Data Privacy Rules and Regulations

New data privacy rules and regulations are developed with the mindset that customers’ data are assets and must be protected. Moreover, these rules are like a breath of fresh air to old data privacy practices in different companies. Let us examine the rules below.

1.      Consent over Transactions

The new privacy rule expects customers to place a premium on receiving customer consent rather than engaging in hidden data transactions. In addition, transacting data is not limited to selling data to other entities. However, It entails collecting data about user browsing behavior, preferences, and psychographics without keeping customers in the loop. Companies should collect information from customers through what is called ‘meaningful consent.’ Meaningful consent gives customers absolute rights to control their privacy as they see fit. It will also increase customer trust in companies moving forward.

2.      Insights Sharing over Identity Sharing

After companies use meaningful consent to receive customer data, they still need to use the internet of trusted data to send customer data. Internet of trusted data enables you to send data insights rather than share information about customers’ identities. This data could be sent to other companies or even to customers themselves. Take Grammarly keyboard for example. The tool sends writing activity information to users in percentages. The writing activity could be divided into productivity, mastery, and vocabulary. Also, Each activity assigned a percentage of how well a user exhibited it. If Grammarly needs to send this writing activity to Microsoft (Word), they will only send the insights. Names or other personally identifiable information will be concealed.

3.      Use of Data Flows

Data flow is the movement of data through a computer system. The new privacy rules expect companies to move data from one team member to another instead of using data silos. The use of data flows allows the generation of accurate customer data insights because every team member proficient at data handling collaborated to achieve that. Data flows also opportune customers to exercise their privacy rights when their data needs to flow to other important entities. For instance, if a person wants to secure a huge loan from a bank, the bank will verify their profile. To verify this borrower’s profile, the bank might need to hire an investigator to fulfill this formality step. First, however, the bank will need the customer’s (borrower’s) consent to share their personal information with the investigator. Governments and regulatory bodies will stop at nothing to protect customers‘ privacy. Also, One of the ways they aim to do this is through the new data privacy rule. Are you struggling with protecting your customers’ data with these new regulations? We can walk you through that journey at Zendata. If you have any questions about the new data privacy rule, drop them in the comment section, and we will answer you right away.