Businesses that collect personal data face an increasingly complex web of privacy regulations. Privacy compliance involves meeting legal requirements for how you collect, use, store, and protect consumer information. Understanding these requirements helps businesses avoid substantial penalties and maintain customer trust.

The Evolving Privacy Landscape

Privacy law has changed dramatically in recent years. Multiple jurisdictions now regulate how businesses handle personal data. The European Union's GDPR, California's CCPA/CPRA, and other state laws create overlapping requirements that affect businesses of all sizes.

Federal regulations for specific industries—HIPAA for healthcare, GLBA for financial services, COPPA for children's data—add additional layers.

Key Privacy Principles

Most privacy laws share common principles. Notice means telling consumers what data you collect and how you use it. Choice means giving consumers options about their data. Access means letting consumers see their data. Security means protecting data from unauthorized access.

Building your compliance program around these principles provides a foundation for meeting specific legal requirements.

Data Mapping

Compliance begins with understanding what data you have. Data mapping identifies what personal information you collect, where it's stored, who has access, how long you keep it, and what vendors receive it.

You can't protect or comply with laws about data you don't know you have. Regular data inventories are essential.

Privacy Policies

Privacy policies disclose your data practices to consumers. Policies must be accurate, comprehensive, and understandable. They should explain what information you collect, how you use it, who you share it with, consumer rights, and how to contact you.

Policies that don't match actual practices create liability. Review and update policies when practices change.

Consumer Rights

Privacy laws increasingly give consumers rights over their data. Common rights include access to their data, deletion of their data ("right to be forgotten"), correction of inaccurate data, portability (receiving data in usable format), and opting out of data sales.

Establish processes to respond to consumer requests within required timeframes—typically 30-45 days.

Data Security Requirements

Most privacy laws require "reasonable" security measures to protect personal data. What's reasonable depends on the sensitivity of data, the size of your business, and available technology. Common requirements include encryption, access controls, employee training, incident response plans, and vendor security assessments.

Vendor Management

When you share data with vendors, you remain responsible for how they handle it. Contracts with vendors must include privacy and security requirements. Assess vendor practices before sharing data. Monitor compliance throughout the relationship.

Data Breach Response

All 50 states require notification when data breaches occur. Notification deadlines vary but are often 30-72 hours after discovering the breach. Prepare incident response plans before breaches occur. Know who to notify and how.

Record Keeping

Document your compliance efforts. Keep records of privacy policies and updates, consumer rights requests and responses, data protection impact assessments, security measures and audits, and employee training. Documentation demonstrates compliance and helps respond to regulatory inquiries.

Employee Training

Privacy compliance requires employee awareness. Train staff on data handling procedures, recognizing privacy requests, and responding to potential breaches. Regular refresher training maintains awareness.

Enforcement and Penalties

Privacy violations carry significant penalties. GDPR fines can reach 4% of global revenue. CCPA penalties range from $2,500 to $7,500 per violation. State attorneys general actively enforce privacy laws. The FTC pursues companies with deceptive privacy practices.

Getting Legal Help

Privacy attorneys help businesses develop compliance programs tailored to their specific data practices and regulatory exposure. They draft policies, establish procedures, and respond to regulatory inquiries. Investing in compliance prevents costly enforcement actions.