It didn’t stop with GDPR.
In fact, it didn’t really start with GDPR. Data privacy was an issue all set to boil over even before the stringent European Union data regulations came into force on May 25 this year. Cambridge Analytica, the Google Plus breach, and many other big security failures form the backdrop to growing concerns among the public. And when the public is concerned, legislators finally act.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) signalled the outbreak of focused data privacy legislation in the United States, with other states likely to follow — unless, that is, Big Tech is successful in lobbying for pre-emptive federal legislation, which will at worst create a level playing field (in the States, anyway), and at best be more compliant with the industry’s interests than laws like California’s.
Click on the Acxiom banner above to find all our Data Privacy Week articles, and articles on the topic from earlier this year.
But let’s not speculate on the future of regulation. All that marketers need to know is that more of it is coming, in one shape or another. What does that mean for the customer data which is at the heart of any modern marketing initiative?
It will certainly underline the value of consent-based first party data — data which is likely, in any case, to be more up-to-date and reliable than data purchased from third party sources.
At the same time, it doesn’t mean third party data is going away, although it increases the onus on companies generating audience insights at scale to ensure they’re gathering data in an ethical way. We’ll be hearing more about that from our Data Privacy Week partner Acxiom.
We’ll also be taking a closer look on what data compliance really means; we’ll look at the concept of consent; we’ll cast an eye back at GDPR; and we’ll discuss the impact of CCPA.
Are data privacy issues making your job harder; or, perhaps, easier? Let us know in the comments below.
