Data is among the most valuable assets that need to be safeguarded at all costs. But in the digitally-driven business world, cybercrimes are prevalent, making data protection and data privacy a main focal point. The increasing use of technology and the growing exposure to evolving cyber threats have dramatically changed the data security and privacy landscape. For these reasons, international regulatory bodies around the world have created stringent data privacy laws for businesses to meet.

The data privacy laws aim at securing individuals’ data while also giving them control over their data. With multiple data privacy regulations in place, businesses are now required to meet the data privacy laws and ensure compliance with the requirements. In order for an organization to best accommodate these regulations, it is important to have a familiarity with some of the popular international data privacy laws existing globally. The need for a global view is necessitated by the global presence of all companies that conduct online business. Also, many regulations are built upon the precedents of those set in other countries.

International Data Privacy Laws

Data privacy has become highly prioritized, especially after many global regulators and governing bodies have established and enforced various data privacy laws. These laws were established to regulate and secure the data processing activities of organizations dealing with personal data. Currently, 128 countries have data security and data privacy legislation in force to protect personal data. Some of the well-known of these include the following:

  • GDPR EU – The General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union is one of the most popular and comprehensive international data privacy laws. It governs the processing of the personal data of citizens of the EU. Organizations that process the personal data of citizens of the EU must comply with the EU GDPR. The (Read more...)