There have been many leaks and reports of big data companies collecting people’s data for nefarious purposes. Whether they’re true or not, it’s led to a lot of people demanding better protection of their online presence. Many people don’t want big companies like Google and Facebook collecting their data anymore for their clients. In response, several states have already signed several privacy laws that will come into effect soon.
Colorado, California, and Virginia have all signed several acts to come into effect by 2023, a little over a year from now. California already has one act in effect, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which is already forcing big data companies to inform consumers about how their data is used, collected, and stored. This will serve consumers until the California Privacy Rights Act in 2023 gives consumers the right to correct inaccurate information businesses have been using and request that companies stop using their data.
The most pressing right for marketers to be worried about is how businesses are not being required to “minimize use, retention, and sharing of personal information to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to achieve the purposes for which the information was collected.” Not only is this incredibly vague, but it could potentially affect every part of marketing.
Colorado’s and Virginia’s new privacy laws aren’t all that different, and it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect more states to follow suit.
How Will Local Privacy Laws Affect Marketers?
The vagueness of California’s new privacy laws could just as easily lead to marketers having ample room to operate as no room. There aren’t clear enough directions to properly predict how damaging this could be. Consumers are being given the legal right to opt out of the data collection used to create marketing campaigns. The power to decide how and who can see their data is back in their hands rather than usual data corporations like Google and Facebook.
At the same time, nothing much may change. These laws do put the impetus on the consumer to contact each company, from Google to its marketing partners, to not use their data. While the laws do assure that consumers have the right to be told by the data collection companies using it, how many will act on the information? How many will ask?
Is the Federal Government Following Suit?
Like many marketing firms, ENX2 Marketing has clients across the country. If the federal government passes a law, instead of slowly adapting our strategies to match the changing times, we’ll all have our marketing uprooted at once. We’ll be making a mad dash to prepare for whatever finish line the federal government sets for us.
Currently, the federal government has been discussing bills that would replicate the privacy laws of some states. On November 3, 2021, “Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee issued a discussion draft of a national preemptive privacy bill, the Control Our Data Act.”
If passed, this act would do things like:
- Require covered businesses to obtain affirmative consent before processing or transferring any consumers’ sensitive personal data
- Decrease personal data collection
- Provide reasonable security to protect personal data
- Publish user-friendly privacy policies
- Perform an annual data impact assessment
The key part to remember is “covered business.” At the moment, that hasn’t been defined and that may only include our data collecting partners in Google, Facebook, etc. This will lead to the data collected from them being reduced and possibly eliminated when searching for specific audiences.
How Can Marketers Prepare for the Onslaught of Privacy Laws?
It would be impossible to stop using data altogether and achieve the results our clients deserve. At the same time, as states announce new legislation and the federal government closes in on their own privacy laws, we can scale back the use of data for certain areas.
We can practice developing marketing strategies for our own brands and websites, to better hone our abilities for our clients for when the time comes. Marketers have had success in learning what we can from how many people view websites, their locational data, and what they purchased. This is data that hits our clients’ websites, making it our clients’ data rather than something Google gives us.
Look at what type of data really helps your company’s own marketing campaigns, and focus on utilizing them for success to prepare for the changes new privacy laws will bring.
Contact an Agency That’s Prepared
ENX2 Marketing has stayed on top of the changing landscape to prepare ourselves and our clients for any changes that legislation may bring. When the rules change and marketing strategies along with, you need a marketing agency that’s prepared. Don’t get caught unprepared, contact ENX2 Marketing for help today.
