Personal Privacy Laws and Your Small Business

As part of running a business your company is able to collect a great deal of details about you. Some of it is sensitive personal information that falls under a specific kind of data that is given additional protection under privacy laws. The laws differ from one country to the next as do the types and quantities of personal data.

Different privacy laws define sensitive data in different ways however, typically it covers things like genetic information like racial and ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. It could also refer to a person’s home address or phone number, or even a social security number. It can include biometric data like fingerprints, as well as electronic signatures.

The laws governing identification of target audience personal information will differ by location and industry, however it’s crucial for businesses to understand what kinds of data they’re legally bound to protect. Most of these laws require you to define and accept your policies as part of doing business.

It’s a good idea to make a list of all the personal information your business holds. This will help you ensure that you’re compliant. This means you have to examine more than just the files in your filing cabinets and also at information stored on mobile devices, laptops home computers, USB flash drives, or digital copiers. You’ll be shocked by the amount of personal information your business has.