Data privacy is one of the most overheard terms in light of the constant technological and digital advancements. But what does it really mean?

First, let’s define data, data security, and data privacy. Data is mainly facts, statistics, and information stored for analysis or reference. Data security is the act of protecting the collected data from fraud, theft, unsanctioned access, or disclosure of information whether intentional or not. Lastly, Data privacy is one’s right to have control over how their data is used, collected, managed, and protected, how it’s analyzed and process, and how businesses control the collected personal data and what policies do they use to protect it.

Now that we’ve established the difference between Data, Data security, and Data privacy, it is important to discuss the 3 principles of Data privacy and why data privacy is important

The whole process of data privacy is based on 3 principles:

• Transparency: It is important that the individual is aware that his/her data is being collected and processed in addition to knowing what measures are being taken to protect their collected data.
• Legitimate purpose: the purpose behind data collection and analysis should be the same as the one declared and specified to the data subjects (individuals whose data was collected) in addition to being ethical and legal
• Proportionality:  the process of analyzing data should be in line with declared and specified reason in addition to it being adequate, relevant, and essential to the specified and declared reason of data collection.

With all the advancements in the digital field, data has become an invaluable asset for businesses, which is why all businesses should make sure that their collected data is highly protected and secured taking into consideration the high chances of unintentionally violating individuals’ data privacy.