2020 was dominated by news of the pandemic and anchored by reality that we all found ourselves in – entire families logging in remotely, trying to keep school and work feeling “normal.” While we tested the limits of what a home office could sustain, the privacy and security of a fully remote world was put front and center. In this piece, we take a look at a few privacy highlights that will likely impact your business and look ahead to see what’s in store for 2021.

Across the globe, countries – including Brazil, Canada, and China — introduced privacy legislation in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. In the United States, California debuted the highly anticipated California Consumer Privacy Act, and we saw privacy weave itself into COVID-19 related legislation in Congress – including the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act of 2020 in the Senate and the Public Health Emergency Privacy Act in the House. While the United States continued to evade federal privacy legislation in 2020, a clear takeaway from the past few years is that privacy has demonstrated itself to be both a bipartisan and pressing issue.

2020: The summer of privacy

Much like everything else in 2020, things only started moving along in the summer.   

July 2020 marked the official start date for enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act. As the fifth largest global economy, California’s legislative reach went far beyond its borders, introducing data protection requirements for the global companies based within its borders and privacy protections for the 39+ million residents. Taking it a step further, California voters approved California Proposition 24 (CPRA) in November. Effective January 1, 2023, CPRA modifies aspects of CCPA and establishes an independent watchdog, the California Privacy Protection Agency.

With a projected budget of (Read more...)