Most websites collect data in the form of cookies or personal information submitted by its users. This information is useful for businesses to deliver products, services, and advertising.
When a customer visits your site, they may have concerns about data protection and what happens to their information when they visit your site. This is where the data protection act comes into play: to protect visitors.
But what is the data protection act, and what are the different laws that govern the way that organizations use our information?
In this article, we’ll explore the technology laws that are in place to protect our privacy.
What Is the Data Protection Act?
In the United States, there is no single federal law that governs privacy. Instead, there is a complex mix of different sector-specific laws. These govern areas, such as health information, financial institutions, marketing, and telecommunications.
The Federal Trade Commission Act protects against deceptive trade practices. While it doesn’t regulate the information found in privacy policies, it does issue regulations and enforces privacy laws.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA regulates the collection of data about minors.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act or HIPAA regulates the collection of all health information.
The Gramm Leach Bliley Act regulates the data collected by financial institutions such as banks. The Fair Credit Reporting Act looks after the way that credit information is collected.
State Data Protection Laws
In addition to the laws set out by the US government, there are also hundreds of different data protection and privacy laws applied at a state level.
California and New York are the first states to bring in legislation that has a national impact; however, many other US states are considering following suit.
The most comprehensive of these state laws is the California Consumer Protection Act or CCPA. This came into effect at the start of 2020. The CCPA works across sectors to provide consumer rights.
One of the areas that the act covers relates to how personal information is collected and giving California residents the right to access, amend, or delete any information. The information regarding this act should be included in a privacy policy that is displayed on the organization’s website.
As of March 2020, the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act or SHIELD came into action. This law is an amendment to the data breach notification law. It includes more requirements for organizations collecting data from residents of New York.
The law sets out to widen consumer privacy and give better protection against data breaches.
How Can We Help?
If you have concerns about your compliance with the data protection act, you could get the assistance of a professional IT support company. We’ll ensure that you are fully compliant with the laws that protect data.
Get in touch today to find out how we can be of assistance.