Jodi Daniels

Who can you trust? People should be able to trust the company not only with the product and service being delivered, but also what it will do with the individual's data. Review the privacy notice (should be within the last year) and see if it clearly explains what data is collected, used, and shared plus privacy rights. Does it have a dedicated page to privacy and security. If financial, health or other sensitive data is being shared, it will be important to get a sense of how strongly the company manages its data and considers privacy and security.

People need to take ownership of their data with the quickly and evolving technology trends. Understanding which settings are adjustable, where they are, what data is being provided, what new browser options are available, and what controls they have. Technology will keep changing. People need to keep changing with it.

Sometimes data privacy is a tradeoff between privacy, personalization and convenience. For some companies, the more data provided yields better content, tailored emails, and targeted advertising. Without that data and personalization, people will still get emails, content and ads. It just won't be unique to them. Security tools add layers to accessing data and it could make it a bit less convenient. However, the tradeoff of slightly less attainable access now to accounts can be far better than the challenges of data loss and identity theft in the event of a data breach.

The more people exercise their privacy rights and make inquiries about their data, the more companies will realize people care about privacy. People need to take control over their data where it's possible. This starts with opting out when added to a marketing list they don't want to be on. Asking for companies to delete data they no longer want to be affiliated with. People need to read the privacy policies and ask questions about it if they don't understand something. Companies provide a contact us mechanism and individuals should use it!

Privacy is a collaborative effort and it's important to ask team members do they have any concerns about data privacy, are there any areas the company should focus on, and additional topics to train on. A privacy champion program can help connect team members and foster sharing of new ideas and best data privacy practices.

Policies are only as good as employees who know about them. Educating employees through emails, videos, meetings, and in short and long form content will address different learning styles. Privacy is not one and done and needs to be communicated often to be a part of the culture.