We are living in a data economy where the free flow of data is crucial to innovation, technological advances and consumer choice.  

However, trust and safety are also central to this data use and consumers need to feel that if they choose to share data with organisations, that they can trust it will be protected.  As data becomes ever more central to business operations, organisations need to get to grips with the collection, storage, use, analysis and transfer of data, including compliance with evolving regulatory requirements as well as potentially contradictory regulations.  

It is more important than ever for organisations to have a full grasp on their data universe and build their products and services with privacy and security by design. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has paved the way for more countries and states to introduce their own similar regimes.   

Data Protection Authorities are becoming increasingly active and four years after the GDPR, non-compliance can really impact an organisation on multiple levels: data risk, cybersecurity risk, consumer mistrust and this all increases the chance of an organisation suffering significant financial and reputational damage.  

In a recent Financier Worldwide Magazine feature on Data Protection & Privacy Laws 2022, we discuss the current data protection landscape in Ireland.