{"id":2630,"date":"2022-09-08T13:39:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T19:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/?post_type=resource&p=2630"},"modified":"2025-05-13T13:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T18:45:08","slug":"companies-embrace-data-privacy","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/resource\/companies-embrace-data-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Companies Should Embrace Data Privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArticles<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Why Companies Should Embrace Data Privacy<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnnie Greenley-Giudici<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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How well does your company embrace data privacy?<\/h2>\n

We know that data privacy is complex.<\/p>\n

Even the most seasoned\u00a0privacy experts agree it\u2019s challenging to stay on top of ever-changing privacy laws, such as updates to the European Union\u2019s (EU) general data protection regulation (GDPR) or the California\u00a0Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s not surprising that compliance with recent regulations was reported as the number one privacy risk by participants in\u00a0TrustArc\u2019s 2022 Global Privacy Benchmark Survey<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Compliance tops data privacy risks<\/h2>\n

In fact, four of the top nine data privacy risks nominated by respondents to our 2022 Benchmark Survey are related to compliance in some way:<\/p>\n

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  1. Complying with recent regulations that have been put into force or will be in 2022 (37%)<\/li>\n
  2. Implementing new cross-border data transfer mechanisms across geographies (22%)<\/li>\n
  3. Maintaining a patchwork of separate local privacy compliance requirements (11%)<\/li>\n
  4. Compliance risks from regulatory oversight and penalties (10%)<\/li>\n
  5. Reputational risks from social media (6%)<\/li>\n
  6. Third-party risk and resilience in your supply chain management (5%)<\/li>\n
  7. Technology shifts (e.g., third party cookies, Google changes to cookie collection) (4%)<\/li>\n
  8. Threats from within by employees (4%)<\/li>\n
  9. Maintaining a patchwork of privacy solutions that are difficult to integrate with one another (3%).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    (Note: The results show the percentage of respondents who ranked a risk as their number one risk in the privacy challenges they face.)<\/i><\/p>\n

    But managing privacy is more than just compliance with data laws<\/h2>\n

    Organizations that embrace privacy know it\u2019s no easy feat. It demands a constant and vigilant data security stance across almost every part of the business.<\/p>\n

    Arguably, the term \u201cprivacy compliance\u201d falls short.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    While governments continue to update existing data privacy laws and draw up new regulations, keeping abreast of data privacy laws is a key priority.<\/p>\n

    However, the challenges and opportunities associated with managing sensitive data extend well beyond managing compliance.<\/p>\n

    Here is why:<\/p>\n

    The pandemic accelerated digital transformation \u2013 and data privacy risks<\/h3>\n

    Certainly, the pandemic made managing data privacy even more difficult.<\/p>\n

    Most organizations were forced to rely heavily on third-party technologies to keep their people connected and collaborating on day-to-day business activities.<\/p>\n

    This immediately raised concerns about\u00a0vendor risk management<\/a>\u00a0and other third-party risk as employees and business partners shifted to online-first ways of working, often involving personal data connections and devices outside an organization\u2019s immediate control.<\/p>\n

    Similarly, organizations that accelerated their digital transformation plans to serve customers online-first (especially while access to physical premises was restricted) had to update not only their protective measures when handling more data, but also their policies and day-to-day processes.<\/p>\n

    Now, as more people have returned to work at their employers\u2019 premises, companies must deal with extra data privacy challenges related to managing COVID-19 risks, such as recording and reporting employee body temperature data or testing results.<\/p>\n

    Digital transformation means privacy management costs more<\/h3>\n

    As more organizations adopt new digital tools to improve their operations and competitiveness, we\u2019ve seen privacy management move up the budget priority list.<\/p>\n

    Historically, securing budget for more leaders, resources and activities related to privacy management was a mammoth task.<\/p>\n

    Back in 2020 when TrustArc conducted the first annual Global Privacy Benchmark Survey we found that\u00a0although the pandemic put a dent in privacy spending, more than two-fifths (41%) of respondents expected to maintain increased privacy budgets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now we are seeing even more organizations invest in the people, technologies and third-party guidance they recognize they need to improve their privacy programs.<\/p>\n

    Pleasingly, companies aren\u2019t merely driven by a fear of privacy regulators, but because they see the advantage of treating privacy as a core value instead of an afterthought.<\/p>\n

    TrustArc\u2019s seven keys to strengthening your data privacy stance<\/h2>\n

    Each year our annual Global Privacy Benchmark Survey has been conducted, we have reported that measurement is a vital contributor to successfully improving privacy.<\/p>\n

    Still, we\u2019ve also found that although medium and large enterprises commonly have privacy offices and measurement methods in place, there are wide variation in where these privacy teams fit in their organizations.<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve also found\u00a0there isn\u2019t a consensus \u2013 yet \u2013 on the best ways to manage and measure privacy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    We recommend that privacy becomes a core part of business strategy, with a strong privacy stance directed from the top and managed well at every level of an organization.<\/p>\n

    In our experience, companies that get it right build greater trust inside and outside their organizations and gain big competitive advantages.<\/p>\n

    The seven keys are:<\/strong><\/p>\n