B2C privacy tools: A bellwether of things to come?

Hello all and happy Thursday! 

Without a doubt, data privacy is complicated for businesses. That’s why companies like Osano exist—to make compliance easier.  

But because businesses carry such a heavy burden when it comes to data privacy, it can be easy to forget about how complex data privacy is for other stakeholders, like consumers. Consumers often don’t know about their rights, what’s acceptable and unacceptable business practice, why data privacy regulations matter and how it affects them, or what they can do when they feel like their rights are being violated.  

That’s all changing fast. 

In connection with Data Privacy Day, California’s attorney general made a statement regarding a recent sweep of businesses subject to the CPRA, issuing out notices of noncompliance for a variety of reasons. Chief among them were notices that businesses were failing to acknowledge data subject access requests (DSARs) from a consumer data privacy rights tool called Permission Slip. 

Developed by Consumer Reports, Permission Slip automates various types of DSARs for consumers. It joins other consumer-facing tools, like the Global Privacy Control, which enables consumers to make their data collection preferences just once, rather than clicking “Accept” or “Reject” on every website’s cookie banner. 

What do these different B2C data privacy tools mean for us? 

Consumers are becoming better equipped and more educated about their data privacy rights. In the future, these tools might become like ad blockers—something that almost everybody uses before browsing the web. At the very least, the existence of Permission Slip and Global Privacy Control mean that some portion of the population will be automatically sending out requests and consent preferences that businesses are obligated to honor. 

For businesses still coming to grips with their data privacy responsibilities, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the developments in the B2C privacy space—they could be a bellwether of things to come. 

Best, 

Arlo 

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