Richard B. Newman Authors Data Privacy Article for Performance Marketing Association

Data Privacy Trends Impacting Digital Marketing Industry

Richard B. Newman recently authored an article for the Performance Marketing Association which discusses state, federal and international data privacy legislative efforts during 2018. The article is entitled “The Year in Privacy 2018.”

The article details efforts at the state level to solidify data privacy laws and the impact upon digital marketing compliance. From the new California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and Colorado’s data breach law amendments, to Vermont’s data broker statute and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), online marketers need to pay particular attention to how the use of consumer information impacts business operations.

The article also discusses the Federal Trade Commission’s continuing focus on cybersecurity enforcement and the protection of technological innovation. With respect to the prospect of federal privacy legislation, Richard stated that “the FTC has recently gone on record, stating that any new privacy or data protection legislation should balance consumers’ legitimate concerns about the collection, use and dissemination of their data with the need for unambiguous legislation that advances technological growth.”One thing is for certain. Marketers must take reasonably steps to ensure that they and their vendors maintain reasonable data security protocols. In fact, according to the FTC’s 2017 Privacy and Data Security Update, the agency has initiated more than 60 privacy and data-security enforcement actions.

State attorneys general are equally as active when it comes to protecting consumers’ online privacy. As discussed in the article, transparency, choice and control are critical.

Perhaps more than any other digital marketing niche, lead generation is of particular interest to state and federal regulators. Privacy and responsible data use are the cornerstones of lead generation and there is no sign that regulatory investigations and enforcement actions into related business practices will yield any time soon, including, but not limited to, the use of consumer information for reasonably anticipated and legitimate purposes.

Contact the author rnewman@hinchnewman.com if you are interested in learning more about the consumer privacy and data security legal landscape.

Richard B. Newman is a digital marketing attorney at Hinch Newman LLP.

Attorney advertising. Informational purposes only. Not legal advice.