The top 10 privacy challenges
January 28 (Privacy Day) marks an important milestone in the field of data protection, an area of increasing importance in our digital age .
As we mark this anniversary in 2024, it is important to reflect on the ever-evolving challenges facing privacy in a world where technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Over the past year, we have witnessed ground-breaking developments in data processing capabilities, along with a corresponding increase in concerns about the security of personal data and its ethical use.
The main challenges for protecting privacy in 2024 are diverse and reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Here are the ten most important challenges :
1. Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms (UOOMs): These mechanisms respond to the need for easier ways for consumers to express their privacy preferences across platforms and services. They allow users to set their privacy preferences once and keep them across all websites and online services.
This trend is driven by new state laws in the US, such as the California Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CCPA) and the Colorado Privacy Protection Act (CPA), which require businesses to comply with the UOOMs. This marks a significant shift towards user-centric privacy controls in the digital space. These mechanisms, exemplified by the Global Privacy Check, are becoming standard, enforcing consumers' right to opt out and requiring businesses to adapt to this new digital consent landscape.
2. Child and Teen Online Safety: In 2024, the spotlight is on child and teen online safety, with several US states to propose legislation for the protection of minors in the digital field. These laws, inspired by California's Age-Friendly Design Code Act, aim to set strict privacy protection standards and website design requirements for users under 18, recognizing the unique vulnerabilities of this demographic group online .
3. Explosion of unstructured data: The explosion of unstructured data, mainly due to the spread of Genetic Artificial Intelligence, is a major challenge in data management. Organizations must navigate the complexities of analyzing, classifying and securing this data to prevent unauthorized access to confidential and sensitive information, making unstructured data a critical focus for privacy strategies in 2024.
4. Continued Diffusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Legislation: The proliferation of AI technologies necessitates a corresponding increase in AI legislation. The challenge for policymakers in 2024 is to balance the need to encourage the development of AI with the imperative to ensure consumer privacy and the ethical use of AI, a task that is gaining global attention.
5. End third-party cookies: Google Chrome's decision to phase out third-party cookies by 2024 marks a major shift in online tracking and advertising. The move is forcing organizations to rethink their data collection and advertising strategies, moving towards more privacy-conscious methods based on first-party data and transparency on user consent.
6. Public awareness and corporate transparency: Increased public awareness of data privacy protection is pushing companies to be more transparent about their data practices. Consumers are increasingly aware of how their data is collected, used and evaluated, leading to demands for clear data processing policies and strong regulatory and technical data security measures.
7. Increase in data subject requests: As public awareness of data rights increases, so does the frequency of data subject requests. These
requests, which allow people to ask about the nature and
