Sometimes my mind wanders and I relate what is happening around me to privacy-related situations. Often our team undertakes assessments for our clients privacy programs and we encounter a number of unexpected, and sometimes surprising findings. One situation we often find is that privacy program establishes one or more policies that are not being followed […]
The need to verify Policy Compliance Read More »
Massachusetts Bill Follows Latest Privacy Law Standards Last month, the Massachusetts Senate passed a privacy bill with amendments. The Massachusetts Data Privacy Act (MDPA) in many ways seems to follow the new wave of US state privacy laws such as the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (MODPA) which came into effect on October 1st, although
Massachusetts bill follows latest Privacy Law standards Read More »
Thoughts after the IAPP Global Privacy Summit The 2025 IAPP Global Privacy Summit confirmed what many of us in the industry already recognize: privacy has evolved from a compliance function into a strategic business priority. As someone who had the privilege of teaching Privacy Program Management for the CIPM (Certified Information Privacy Manager) designation at
Thoughts after the IAPP GPS Read More »
We Give You Permission to Take These Personal Privacy Steps The privacy community recognized Data Privacy Day on January 28th. Here at Privacy Ref, every day is Data Privacy Day. We promote privacy awareness and assist our clients from small to large businesses in meeting their obligations and following best practices five days a week.
Personal Privacy Tips Read More »
Artificial intelligence is seemingly, suddenly everywhere in 2025—and possibly already being used within your organization. With the increasing popularity and use of artificial intelligence by organizations also comes additional regulations and best practices. The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act may be the first law to regulate the use of artificial intelligence, but it is closely
Bring AI into the Privacy Program in 2025 Read More »
The regulatory landscape for privacy is getting more complex and comprehensive. We are seeing small and mid-size organizations which were outside the scope of privacy legislation now becoming directly or indirectly pulled into complying with new regulations. Creating a privacy office can be an expensive endeavor for organizations of this size and in many cases
What is a Fractional Privacy Office? Read More »
Earlier this year, the US Congress decided that TikTok, the social media app primarily used for sharing short form video content, was a security risk to the United States. The argument essentially boils down to TikTok being owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Because of that, it is argued that the Chinese government could order
The Answer to the TikTok Ban is Privacy Read More »
As of January 15th, 2025, fourteen US state comprehensive privacy laws will be in effect, as the laws of Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and New Jersey join those of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Applicable businesses have about a month (give or take a few days depending on the
Three things your business can do to comply with 2025 state laws Read More »
Your roadmap to data organization and control Data inventories help you to understand what data your company has, where it comes from, how it’s being stored and what standards apply to it. In this short video, Ben Siegel explains what a data inventory is, why it is important for any privacy program, and how you
What the FTC’s “Click to Cancel” Rule Means for Your Business After more than a year, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final “click to cancel” rule. While consumers rejoice over the requirement to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up, we at Privacy Ref understand that this
