Posted by Over 33% of adults in the U.S. have experienced identity theft, with consumers reporting losses of over $3 billion due to fraud in 2020. Unfortunately, for U.S. consumers the problem of identity theft is getting worse, not better. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it comes in the form of new data privacy regulations like the CCPA and CPRA in California, the CPA in Colorado, and the VCDPA in Virginia.
These laws offer important data privacy protections to consumers, but they are creating headaches for businesses that suddenly need to comply with a patchwork of different regulations. Making matters more complicated, data privacy laws are based on where a consumer is located, not where the business is. For a business with customers across the country, that means complying with CCPA and CPRA when dealing with California residents, complying with CPA for Colorado residents, complying with VCDPA for Virginia residents, and so on.
Does this sound like a lot of complexity in the relatively new legal arena of data privacy compliance? You bet!
Until the federal government enacts national standards for data privacy compliance, we are likely to see more state legislatures pass their own data privacy regulations. That means a lot of regulatory red tape for businesses. And the fines are no joke. In California, CCPA fines can reach up to $7,500 per violation. As an example, a business founds guilty of CCPA violations for 20,000 consumer records could face up to $15 million in fines! Indeed, the total cost of initial compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is estimated at $55 billion, according to an economic impact assessment report.
Even though privacy laws are creating confusion and lots of new liability for businesses, data privacy protections are necessary. The explosion of identity theft and financial fraud targeting U.S. consumers has a direct connection to data breaches of sensitive information, like social security numbers, credit cards, and bank account information. It is likely anyone reading this article has personally experienced a data breach or knows someone who has.
So how can we balance the need for data privacy laws to protect consumers while helping businesses to implement data privacy compliance without having to give away the store? The answer is new technologies that improve data management and automate the data tracking and reporting requirements of data privacy laws.
Our approach to data privacy compliance is a turnkey solution that automates data inventory management and consumer request processes. Privacy Lock uses blockchain technology created by the Penta Network to track consumer information in a business’s data systems, mapping where data goes and how it is used. The key to operationalizing regulatory compliance for data privacy laws is being able to efficiently track and report on the use of consumer PI. Rather than be forced to hire dozens of data admins to manually track data usage and generate CCPA reports, Privacy Lock automates privacy tracking saving your business time and resources.
And Privacy Lock seamlessly integrates compliance solutions for any jurisdiction with compliance requirements – from Colorado’s CPA all the way to Virginia’s VCDPA.
Visit our website to learn how you can protect your customers and your business today with Privacy Lock.