Today, ethical business leadership calls for a deep understanding of data protection and privacy norms. Businesses operating in every industry, from finance to healthcare, and e-commerce to law, have recognized that personal data management has gone from a compliance checkbox to a source of competitive advantage. Failing to adopt these norms is likely to lead to enforcement action, and a dent in public confidence. Here are some privacy principles business leaders must understand.
Principles of Legality, Lawfulness and Legitimacy
This principle emphasizes that every aspect of personal data processing, from collection to deletion, must be based on a valid reason and must happen within the framework of relevant law and international human rights standards.
This principle is important because when data is collected unlawfully, its unlawfulness affects every aspect of data processing activity, making the entire data lifecycle illegal. This principle has also been evaluated in a recent report which examines several international frameworks on data regulation, including the GDPR, OECD Guidelines, and more, to find out the valid grounds recognized around the globe.
This list includes consent, law, contractual necessity, public interest, valid interest, vital interests, and court orders. It’s vital for business professionals to understand these rules, as they prevent costly retroactive data deletion, dismantled product features, and regulatory enforcement.
Principle of Consent
The principle of consent is basically concerned with giving individuals control over their personal data through voluntary, specific, informed, and revocable consent for its processing for well-defined purposes. This enables individuals to have active control over their personal data rather than passively accepting its collection as part of using various online services.
For business leaders, ensuring good consent practices has direct implications for their bottom line. When companies develop UX centered on actual consent, they improve client trust and show that they’re genuinely interested in transparency. This is important for companies trying to stand out in the crowded markets where consumers are concerned about their autonomy.
In addition, well-documented consents also ensure that businesses are able to take the most defensible stance in oversight and enforcement proceedings to prove that consent was well understood and freely given to process their data. Apart from that, valid consents also ensure better relations with customers.
Principle of Proportionality and Minimization
Both data minimization and proportionality require personal data and processing activities to be limited to the degree that is appropriate and relevant to the defined purposes. Purposeful data reduction, or minimization, enables organizations to disregard excessive data in favor of adequate data that aligns with stated objectives.
Today’s business leaders can reap amazing benefits by weaving these tenets into their strategies and operations. In other words, by fighting the urge to harvest “data for just in case”, organizations can decrease the damage from security breaches, improve systemic risk, and design architectures that can endure amidst shifting regulations and technologies.
To get the best results, businesses should consider using fewer identifiers, reducing retention periods, utilizing pseudonymization and fighting off “mission creep” to secondary uses that aren’t in line with original uses.
Endnote
The three principles examined here are far from stand-alone obligations for compliance but rather interrelated elements for constructive leadership in the new paradigm created by digitization. Businesses that integrate these elements into their culture show they’re serious about protecting privacy rather than paying lip service to compliance. It’s vital to take action in this regard because, by waiting, companies can find themselves on the receiving end of enforcement action that could otherwise be prevented.
