Privacy

It's clear that the onset of GDPR regulations and a quickly changing consumer sentiment about the sensitivity and value of their personal data will reorient a company's interactions with their customers and their information. There will be some pain points in this transition, as Facebook investors recently demonstrated, but it doesn't have to be a unilateral downturn for the tech industry.

In the legal community, professionals have embraced email. However, as increasing concerns and regulations around data security continue to evolve, the future of digital communication via email may not meet the more stringent requirements.

If 2017 was considered the “year of the data breach” as the number of incidents hit a new record high of 1,579, 2018 might get even more serious. Just a little more than halfway through 2018, the number and scale of data breaches that have already been reported is staggering.

Earlier this summer a group of security-minded executives in Chicago, long a hub for legal and financial tech, sat down for a panel discussion on anticipating and combatting cybercrime.

The entertainment industry is intensely focused on data collection and analytics as it seeks to maximize the exploitation of digital content. Just as those of us in the privacy field had begun to have a slight breather as much of the heavy lifting on the GDPR was finally behind us, lawmakers in California have passed the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA).

Ostensibly, GDPR's mission is to strengthen and unify the EU's protection of online privacy rights and promote data protection for citizens of the 28 countries currently in the EU. In the global economy, however, GDPR serves as an alarm to all countries with business flowing across Europe and well beyond. Where business flows, data follow.

Colorado recently adopted a new law expanding companies' obligations in the event of a cybersecurity incident, and establishing new data security and disposal obligations. Recent announcements by the SEC likewise emphasize important responsive points for both companies and their personnel in the wake of an incident. Five key takeaways from these developments are highlighted in this article.

Emerging technologies and regulations have the power to create, shape or kill businesses. For the entertainment industry, the European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and blockchain technology each embody forces that have the potential for profound impact. Taken in tandem, the GDPR and blockchain highlight the possibilities and pitfalls of disruption and the importance of cross-organizational collaboration in compliance and innovation initiatives.