The Data Privacy Laws That You Should Be Aware Of

About 60% of Americans?now believe it’s impossible to go through daily life without getting their data collected. If you have your own business, it may help you to pay close attention to what your business is actually doing with any data it has.

Are you someone that is trying to implement data best practices in your business? If you’re a small business owner, it’s crucial to understand what type of data safety (and data security)?measures?are in place.

In addition to this, you have to make sure that you’re following the law. A cybersecurity audit from professionals can help with this. But, it’s important to understand your role in the matter as well as the owner of the business.

Keep reading to learn about some of the data privacy laws that impact US (and EU) consumers that you need to understand.

US Privacy Act of 1974

This was right around the time when databases were starting to make their way onto computer technology. Congress was worried about this data getting misused when held by the government.

As a result, they passed the landmark US Privacy Act of 1974. This contains important restrictions and rights that the US government (and its agencies) have on the data they hold.

The main things to know about this act include:

• US citizens can access and copy certain data held by government agencies
• US citizens can correct information as needed
• Agencies must follow?data minimization principles?when collecting data
• People can access most data on a “need to know” basis only
• Agencies cannot share information with any other agencies (unless certain conditions apply)

These are what laid the groundwork for many future privacy laws in the US, so it’s important to understand that this is where it all started!

HIPAA, COPPA, and GLBA

HIPAA was passed in 1996 as a way to help regulate health insurance and the healthcare industry. It is a complex law that includes security and data privacy sections. Read more