Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: 7 Key Concepts

Posted on March 08, 2012 by Robin Campbell

Privacy-data-protection(Privacy Update)

Last week, the White House released the “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights,” a set of guidelines intended to improve online consumer privacy.  The guidelines follow established principles such as the EU Data Protection Directive, APEC privacy standards and the Fair Information Practice Principles (concepts that C4C has been teaching for years).  These guidelines promote the idea of transparency in all aspects of data use, from its initial collection to its final destruction–to allow individuals the opportunity to control when and how their personal information is used. 

The definition of personal information in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is broad, and basically includes any data that can be linked to a specific individual, and data that is linked to a specific computer or other device.  Over the next few months, the Obama administration is meeting with privacy advocates and internet companies to help develop a code of conduct that follows the Bill of Rights that would be enforceable by the FTC. 

Set forth below is a summary of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights:
 
1. Individual control:  Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal information companies collect from them and how they use it.

2. Transparency:  Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices.

3. Respect for context:  Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.

4. Security:  Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.

5. Access and accuracy:  Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate.

6. Focused collection:  Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.

7. Accountability:  Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

Click 4 Compliance’s Privacy & Data Protection course covers these basic privacy principles, as well as detailed information about how to actually meet these standards in your day-to-day practices.