Privacy Awareness Week

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an annual initiative across Asia Pacific, held to raise awareness of issues around privacy and the importance of protecting personal information.

The issues of privacy have never been more prominent or important than in today’s connected world, driven by data. The rise of smart cities and technologies has huge potential for improving the lives of citizens across the globe, but not before addressing the matter of privacy in order to protect personal information.

Consumers part with their data on a daily basis, granting access to information to those organisations that handle such assets with care.  In light of this flow of trust, the theme of this year’s Privacy Awareness Week is Trust and Transparency.

ADMA’s World of Privacy 2017 paper released coinciding with PAW, also validates trust and transparency as common issues faced by nations around the world.

The paper highlights the need for a collective focus on consumer trust and updated policies and legislation that is designed for an agile, data-driven customer-centric world. Read the World of Privacy 2017 paper here.

The Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim also emphasises the need for transparency in order to build public and consumer confidence.

“Privacy is rarely about secrecy, but is about transparency, security, and choice. It’s about organisations being up-front about their personal information handling practices so that individuals can make informed choices about how they share their information. And it’s about respecting customer trust by maintaining strong security and information handling practices throughout the life cycle of personal data,” he said.

The Commissioner’s words echo ADMA’s stand on privacy and the outcomes of a recent roundtable discussion with industry experts, detailed in a joint Data Governance Australia (DGA) and ADMA whitepaper, entitled Building Consumer Trust. Consumer trust in Australia is heavily dictated by the level of transparency of businesses.

This need for increased transparency is also reflected in the recently updated Privacy Amendment Notifiable Data Bill, making it mandatory for businesses to notify a number of different parties in case of an eligible data breach. (Read more about the Bill here.)

Businesses need to equip themselves with the right information and knowledge around privacy to ensure they are transparent with consumers – not only as a matter of compliance but as a way to engender consumer trust.

We have a number of resources for marketers around privacy, so make sure you take a look at the available information and let us know if you have any questions.

We also have a Privacy and Marketing Compliance course that helps marketers navigate the legal pitfalls of data-driven marketing. Take a look now.

Take a look at our short Privacy Compliance Q&A videos for quick insights into common questions about privacy.

For more information about Privacy Awareness Week, visit www.oaic.gov.au/paw2017