Privacy laws in the U.S have a significant influence on business operations and require companies to carefully manage how they collect, classify, and use personal information. While there is no single federal privacy law, several industry-specific laws apply, such as HIPAA for health information, GLBA for financial institutions, and COPPA for children’s information etc.
Thats why, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces privacy through its authority against deceptive or unfair practices. At the state level, laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) give consumers rights over their personal information, including access, deletion, correction, and opting out of data sales. Other states, such as Virginia, Colorado, and Utah, have also enacted privacy laws with similar provisions. As a result, companies must provide transparency through clear privacy notices, obtain proper consent when required, secure personal information, and comply with consumer requests. Failure to comply can result in heavy fines, legal action, and damage to a company’s reputation. Therefore, understanding and complying with applicable privacy laws is essential to operating responsibly and legally in the U.S. market.
- EU (GDPR): comprehensive and stringent. applies globally to anyone handling the data of EU residents. Grants broad rights (access, erasure, portability) and requires clear consent. Fines can be up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover.
- U.S.: patchwork of sector and state-specific laws (example: CCPA/CPRA). rights are more limited (access, erasure, opt-out). No single federal law. Penalties vary, with enforcement divided among agencies.
For best practice, it is always recommended to adopt a global privacy strategy based on the strictest rules like the GDPR one’s; limiting data collection to what’s necessary only, provide clear, up-to-date privacy notices, also appoint a privacy officer or DPO and use consent management tools.
