Luca Schiavoni, Analyst, Regulation, Ovum
The celebration of the Data Privacy Day on January 28, 2013 came at a moment when awareness of the importance of the matter is higher than it has ever been. However, many obstacles get in the way of full data privacy, including companies’ unwillingness to fully disclose what they do with their users’ data, consumers’ unwillingness to actually read lengthy terms and conditions pages when signing up to a service, and the fact that some companies’ business models rely on their users’ data to distribute targeted advertising.
Regulation in this area is often quite confusing and obsolete, and it can be it unclear whether the rules that apply are those of the service provider’s country or the user’s country. There is a clear need for coordinated approaches between regulators around the world.