Respect Privacy

respectprivacy

According to a Pew Research Center study, 79% of U.S. adults report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies. Respecting consumers’ privacy is a smart strategy for inspiring trust and enhancing reputation and growth in your business.

Privacy Advice for Businesses

  • If You Collect It, Protect It. Data breaches can not only lead to great financial loss, but a loss in reputation and customer trust. Follow reasonable security measures to keep individuals’ personal information safe from inappropriate and unauthorized access. Make sure the personal data you collect is processed in a fair manner and only collected for relevant and legitimate purposes.
  • Consider Adopting a Privacy Framework. Build privacy into your business by researching and adopting a privacy framework to help you manage risk and create a culture of privacy in your organization. Get started by checking out the following frameworks:
  • Conduct an Assessment. Conduct an assessment of your data collection practices. Understand which privacy laws and regulations apply to your business. Educate your employees of their and your organization’s obligations to protecting personal information.
  • Transparency Builds Trust. Be open and honest about how you collect, use and share consumers’ personal information.  Think about how the consumer may expect their data to be used and design settings to protect their information by default. Communicate clearly and concisely to the public what privacy means to your organization and the steps you take to achieve and maintain privacy.
  • Maintain Oversight of Partners and Vendors.  If someone provides services on your behalf, you are also responsible for how they collect and use your consumers’ personal information.

The Difference between Security and Privacy

Security refers to the ways we protect ourselves, our property, and personal information. It is the first level of defense against unwanted intruders. Privacy is our ability to control access to our personal information. Privacy is the what and security is the how when it comes to protecting personal information.

This is a short PBS film on privacy and technology, and how expectations of both have evolved time.

Be #PrivacyAware