CategoryAll|Guest Blogger|Privacy Basics|Privacy Ref|Videos

For privacy, 2020 is not for hindsight

It has been an exciting few years for privacy. The passing and enforcement of new laws (such as CCPA and GDPR) and modifications made to others have caused a flurry of activity across organizations of all sizes. Decisions have been made about how meeting the laws’ requirements by changing p...

Political Campaigns Need Privacy Policies and Training

When I made the transition from working in American Politics to learning about Privacy, the first tidbit of information I was given was that there was a difference in terminology between the American  and the European practice. In America, we use the term Privacy but in Europe they use the term D...

My path towards privacy

My path towards a career in the privacy field was a circuitous route. As a perennially engaged Political Organizer and activist, information privacy and data management would not have been the most obvious path for my next endeavor. However, after serving on a campaign that featured the most famo...

Preparing your customer-facing staff

My wife and I went to a favorite pizza place the other day. It is a small chain that has a loyalty program. The server, having seen us on a few other occasions, asked us if we wanted to sign up. All we needed to do was provide an email address, phone number, and name […]

What is the difference between privacy and security?

One question that I am frequently asked is “what is the difference between privacy and security?” It sounds simple enough, but the response often gets complicated. Maybe an analogy will help.

Privacy Impact Assessments: Organization-specific or Generic PIAs

I recently had a conversation with a colleague about privacy impact assessments, PIAs, and the tools available to administer them. We quickly became philosophical, trying to weigh whether a generic tool would work or if something that is organization specific is necessary.

What do you mean you don’t like SPAM?

Recently, I have been researching the laws about electronic and direct marketing communications, also called CEMs (commercial electronic messages).  There are many countries that do not have laws that regulate the use of these marketing techniques, but it is important to understand how those that...

A First Timer’s Privacy Academy

Six months ago, I attended my first IAPP Summit in Washington D.C.  In September, I went to the 2014 IAPP Privacy Academy in San Jose; I have to say that I got a lot more out of this event.  This had very little to do with the actual content and people there, and more to […]

Is your organization “privacy aware”?

Every time I read the news it seems there is a new data breach impacting client or employee privacy.  Just last week UPS, Supervalu, Community Health Systems, North Dakota University, Shaw’s / Star Market  / Albertson’s, and Schnucks have all been mentioned in articles related to new ...

A First Timer Prepares for (and Passes) the IAPP Foundation Exam

Studying for any exam is nerve racking. Students always have questions, such as the following: What is the format of the test? How many questions? What will be covered? What should I study?  I asked all of these when I began preparing for the IAPP Foundation exam.