Data Privacy Training: 16 Data Privacy Law Resources
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For companies wondering how aggressively GDPR would really be enforced during its first full year in effect, 2019 has been a wake-up call.
First, there was a $57 million fine against Google in January for improperly disclosing information on the collection of a user's personal data.
Now, just about a year after GDPR came into effect in September, British Airways has been hit with a $228 million fine—the biggest yet handed out under the policy.
Throughout 2019, companies big and small have been fined a total of $359 million. While companies like Marriott and La Liga have been targeted by regulators, smaller companies have been caught and fined for improper data collection practices as well.
No matter the size of your company or the extent of the data you collect, you need to know as much as possible about data privacy regulations and laws if you want to stay on the right side of GDPR and similar regulations.
To help you learn everything you can about data privacy laws, we’ve put together a list of 16 resources, including online courses, articles, and podcasts, to get you started.
Data privacy training resources: online courses
Plenty of world-renowned universities and international organizations offer different courses about data privacy and its laws. These courses range from 30-minutes to 8-weeks long, depending on how much time you have and how deep your knowledge needs to be.
1) Privacy Law and Data Protection
If you need to learn about data privacy in the U.S. and abroad, this course from the University of Pennsylvania is a great place to start. It’s a 4-week training course offered through Coursera that covers how privacy laws actually work by using HIPAA as an example.
What makes this course a little bit different is that it focuses on the laws surrounding data breaches. Those laws are driving some of the biggest organizational changes.
2) Cybersecurity: Managing Risk in the Information Age
This course is more focused on data security. Specifically, it’ll help you identify weak areas in your company’s data privacy technology that could be subject to breaches. The course also spends a significant amount of time on data privacy laws and helping you understand if your company is compliant.
Harvard University offers this 8-week course through their online learning portal.
3) Understanding the GDPR
This is one of the most comprehensive GDPR courses that we’ve found for compliance training. It was developed by the University of Groningen and will teach you everything you need to know about the European Union's data privacy laws and regulatory framework in just four weeks.
Most importantly, the course will help you understand your responsibilities as a data collector and also the rights of the consumers who agree to share their sensitive data with you.
4) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
If you’re looking for a GDPR compliance course that’s shorter than the 4-week one from the University of Groningen, this one from Thomson Reuters is a great starting place.
In 40 minutes, you’ll learn the basics of the GDPR, including the rules and principles for data collection and retention, rights of consumers, and the security requirements for companies.
5) U.S. Private-Sector Privacy Online Training
This course comes from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), which is one of the largest and most well-known information privacy organizations.
If you’re looking for the most up-to-date information on U.S. data privacy, or if you’re prepping for the CIPP/US Certification, the IAPP’s course will be a huge help.
6) Data Privacy and Security
Thomson Reuters offers this 30-minute course and tailors it to specific industries and regional data privacy laws.
It’ll help you understand the basics of customer data protection and the consequences of not complying with data privacy laws and regulations.
Articles and publications for data privacy training
If you’re the type of person who prefers to learn through reading, there are a number of data privacy articles and publications you should read. Don’t forget to bookmark these for future reference.
7) 11 new state privacy and security laws explained: Is your business ready?
From the CCPA to Washington’s data breach laws, this article from CSO provides a good primer on all new and upcoming privacy laws in the U.S.
8) California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): What you need to know to be compliant
This article from CSO takes a look at a number of questions surrounding the CCPA. You’ll learn which companies are affected by the CCPA, when you need to comply, and what’ll happen if you don’t comply.
9) State Laws Related to Internet Privacy
The National Conference of State Legislatures gives an overview of all existing U.S. state-level privacy laws in this article. It helpfully includes links to the full text of all privacy laws that it covers.
10) A Practical Guide to Data Privacy Laws by Country
If you need a brief overview of the data privacy laws in specific countries, this resource from i-Sight is for you. It covers data privacy laws from over 30 countries and includes links to learn more about each law.
11) Data Protection Laws of the World
This is one of the most comprehensive resources about data protection and privacy laws. It was put together by the global law firm DLA Piper and includes a map of all countries with data privacy laws. The best part is how detailed it is—giving an overview of each country’s laws, their requirements, and how those laws are enforced.
12) Data Protection Report
Rather than a single article, the Data Protection Report is an entire publication dedicated to the rapidly evolving data privacy landscape. They regularly publish articles about data privacy. You can subscribe to their blog via email and have their insights dropped into your inbox.
If you’re looking for one place to start with this publication, their coverage of the CCPA is more in-depth than almost any other publication.
13) Data Protection Law: An Overview
This report from the Congressional Research Service covers a number of U.S. data privacy laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the CCPA.
It also covers why a lot of these laws were enacted in the first place and what Congress should consider if it’s going to implement a federal data privacy protection act.
Podcasts and videos about data privacy law
Prefer to listen and watch content about data privacy? These resources will help you learn about data privacy while you’re commuting or just have some free time when you’re not at work.
14) How the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will affect you and your business
TECHtalk, a video series from the International Data Group, took some time to break down the CCPA and what it means for your business, whether your company is located in California or not.
In this 22-minute video, the hosts discuss how the regulation will change business models and drastically increase the transparency of the data that companies collect. They also touch on a few companies trying to find ways to exempt themselves from the regulation.
15) The Privacy Advisor Podcast
This podcast from IAPP interviews privacy experts from all parts of the world. Lately, their episodes have been focusing on the CCPA, but they typically cover a wide range of data privacy topics.
If you’re looking for a good episode to start with, listen to Year one of GDPR,which covers how companies have dealt with the GDPR in its first year.
16) Security Intelligence Podcast
This podcast is more focused on data security than data privacy, but the two are closely related. If you’re interested in learning about and improving your company’s data privacy, you need a solid understanding of data security.
Their recent episode about data security in the cloud is worth a listen, especially if your company is working on their digital transformation.
Data privacy is changing rapidly
All of these resources will help you catch up on the latest changes in data privacy. Since privacy laws and consumer preferences are changing rapidly, and new laws are popping up constantly, it can be easy to fall behind. Keeping up these podcasts, blogs, and online courses can help since these resources are solely focused on data privacy.
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