Announcing The Privacy Insider Book

For decades, unchecked data collection and processing was the norm—today, not so much. The sudden shift in thinking around data privacy has left many feeling out of the loop, uncertain about why data privacy matters and how they can wrap their head around their new regulatory obligations. 

Osano's CEO, Arlo Gilbert, doesn't think you should feel left out of the loop when it comes to data privacy. Nor does he think that it should be complicated to just do the right thing. That’s why he, along with cofounder Scott Hertel, founded Osano based on these principles. It's why they've helped cultivate an organization and company culture that focuses on creating delightful experiences for our customers and educates our audience, and it’s why Arlo wrote The Privacy Insider. 

In this soon-to-be-published book, Arlo lays out the relevant information for you to understand and operationalize data privacy in simple, clear language that focuses on what’s relevant to businesses seeking to do the right thing. Ultimately, The Privacy Insider will help you navigate the privacy ecosystem and arm you with the strategy you need to become a long-lasting, successful, trusted brand. 

Here’s a sneak peek from the first few chapters: 

People who feel they lead boring lives with nothing to hide may still not be alarmed by all of this. But what many folks don’t consider is that as cultural, societal, leadership, and governmental changes take place, new perspectives can change how our actions are viewed. Activities that were once considered harmless can be held against us and our fellow citizens. Information you previously shared about yourself or data you generated can even turn into admissions to crimes. Think about it: laws related to actions like medical procedures, uses of certain drugs, and who we can marry have changed worldwide in recent years alone. What if a future US Supreme Court decision takes away certain civil liberties that we value? It happened with abortion when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. We don’t know what future government leaders will stand for, how societal perspectives will change, or how our actions may be interpreted under evolving laws.  

Our concerns also go beyond criminal accusations. The issue of governments’ access to personal data through private companies is rife with problems. The situation is especially sticky in the United States, where the data broker industry is largely unregulated, and yet government agencies often rely on private brokers to carry out their work.

In just one example, it’s been widely reported that ICE searched a database of personal information provided by LexisNexis over 1.2 million times between March and September 2021 alone.⁹¹ And the Intercept reported that in 2021, LexisNexis entered a $16.8 million contract with ICE, wherein the data broker is providing ICE with access to billions of records containing personal data aggregated from public and private sources, including credit history, bankruptcy records, license plate images, and cellular subscriber information.⁹²  

LexisNexis faces ongoing backlash for the deal. In 2022, it was sued over its mass collection and sale of Illinoisans’ data without their consent.⁹³ Antonio Gutierrez, strategic coordinator for Organized Communities Against Deportations (one of the advocacy groups behind the lawsuit), explained, “LexisNexis is violating individuals’ privacy rights by providing addresses, phone numbers, relatives’ names, and more through the data being sold to agencies like ICE without their permission.”⁹⁴ Meanwhile, LexisNexis has been in the spotlight for reporting inaccurate data. Along with Experian, it was part of a 2022 class action lawsuit claiming that it published inaccurate and derogatory credit information, failed to maintain reasonable procedures in accurately reporting credit information, and failed to properly investigate credit information.⁹⁵ ICE is using its data nonetheless. And this is just one glimpse into the larger problem. 

[. . .] 

As legislation around government access to private data evolves and unfolds, our roles as data stewards become more important than ever. We must do our due diligence to be aware of all the third parties with whom we’re sharing our users’ data. And we need to be clear about how the third parties with whom we’re sharing our data will use it. That can feel like a tall order, but the good news is that a strong data-privacy program will make these actions a part of your typical workflow. We have more power to protect personal data than it may seem.