Data privacy laws relate to the proper handling of personal data, including the collection, sharing, and storage of data. Data privacy laws also touch on the protection of the Personal Identifiable Information (PII), which includes a person’s name, address, phone number, identification number, date of birth, their pictures, and much more.
In the US, data privacy is governed by several federal and state laws. Thus, it can be daunting for organizations and individuals who want to comply with these laws to navigate through all of them.
To ensure you have an easy time adhering to these laws, here is everything you need to know about data privacy laws.
US Data Privacy Laws
The US data privacy issues are governed by a framework of state and federal laws.
State Data Privacy Laws
Each of the US states has data security statutes and regulations that govern the collection, use, storage, and sharing of personal data from its residents. The state attorney generals are mandated with enforcing these laws and ensuring the residents are protected from data breaches.
Some notable state data privacy laws include:
- The California Consumer Privacy Act – The CCPA is a California data privacy law that came into effect on 1st January 2020. It is the most comprehensive law among the other states’ data privacy laws. CCPA provides essential definitions relating to consumers’ data privacy issues. It also provides insights for consumers on how they can control and protect their data from breaches. It also highlights that companies in California must have secure privacy programs that protect their consumers’ data.
- New York SHIELD Act – This law is meant to deter hackers and improve the security of New York residents’ electronic data. The law provides the requirements to be met by companies and individuals collecting data from New York residents.
- The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act – The law regulates the use, collection, and storage of biometric data from Illinois residents.
- The Vermont Data Broker Law – Regulates the operations of organizations and individuals in Vermont who collect data and sell it to other firms.
Federal Data Privacy Laws
Federal laws that govern data privacy in the US are often sector-specific. Examples of such laws include:
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that protects consumers’ personal health information
- The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) that protects individuals’ financial data
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) that relates to the protection of credit card data
- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that protects students’ education data
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the chief federal agency that ensures the enforcement of federal privacy laws. The commission is also charged with the protection of consumers’ privacy and personal data.
International Data Privacy Laws
A well-known data privacy law in the international scene is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR is a single law that governs the use and transfer of personal data among the 28 countries found in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The GDPR has an extraterritorial scope as it applies to both the companies that conduct their businesses in the EEA and to all those who receive data from EEA residents regardless of their location. This law, due to its broad reach, has encouraged other countries to come up with legislations that govern data privacy.
The key concepts highlighted in this law include:
- The owners of personal data should provide explicit consent before their data is collected
- Mandatory notifications to owners of data within 72 hours in case of a data breach that affects their information
- Owners of data have rights that they should be made aware of before their data is collected
If you’re an individual or a firm that often comes into contact with consumer data, you should stay abreast of these data privacy regulations. Failure to adhere to these laws can lead to hefty fines and expensive lawsuits.
