Introduction To DCI’s “The New State of Data Privacy” Series

Historical insights from the Data Catalyst Institute (DCI) touch on a breadth of topics within the data privacy space, from the relationship between EU data privacy regulations and the economics of startup business, to data sharing between food delivery platforms and restaurants, to the privacy implications of connected vehicles. In the midst of the rapid expansion and evolution of the Privacy Tech landscape, DCI is introducing a new expert-driven series on the “The New State of Data Privacy.” 

Now more than ever and at an ever-expanding rate, users of digital technologies are generating data, which presents private companies with both an opportunity to adapt their products to this data-driven environment, and a challenge to manage consumer data safely and responsibly. In the wake of increasing market demand from consumers and in the absence of meaningful federal legislation surrounding data privacy in the United States, private companies – large and small –  fuel a marked shift in the industry as they take on new roles and responsibilities and invest in technologies that enable consumer liberty, regulatory compliance, and privacy-by-design. 

Against this backdrop, the “Privacy Tech” landscape involves an increasing number of companies addressing the complex challenges arising in the data governance and privacy space and specializing in different aspects, such as, the personal data economy, automated compliance and governance, data anonymization tools, and privacy engineering tools for developers. In fact, the number of companies in this Privacy Tech landscape has grown roughly 8X to over 350 companies just since 2016. Companies in this landscape include:   

• Data Protocol, a startup education platform about data privacy and related topics

• Privacy Code, a platform that transforms privacy requirements into actionable tasks for tech teams

• Dataswift, a small company that is building digital infrastructure for decentralized data mobility and interoperability and something called the Data Economy 2.0

• Privitar, a medium-sized firm offering enterprise data privacy software

• ID.me, a medium-sized firm offering software that simplifies providing proof-of-identity and identity-sharing online 

• BigID, a medium-sized data management company that helps other companies with regulatory compliance

• Checks by Google, a platform offering from a very large company aimed at simplifying privacy compliance for mobile app developers 

With the rise of privacy engineering and compliance platforms like these and others, private companies at various stages of size and scale enable the operationalization and incorporation of data privacy and protection measures into products. These technologies, in turn, make “privacy as a product” accessible to developers by equipping them with the tools and resources they need to identify potential privacy compliance issues and take actionable steps to create products with data privacy measures built into their foundation. 

“The New State of Data Privacy” expert series will feature interviews with leaders, professionals, academics, and innovators across the Privacy Tech industry, along with analysis and insights from the DCI team. Kicking off the series is an interview with Michelle Finneran Dennedy, Partner at Privatus Strategic Consulting and CEO of PrivacyCode, Inc. Readers of this new series will walk away with actionable information to better inform their perspectives on data privacy, contextualize sustainable data privacy outcomes, and examine any future legislation regulating the ever-changing dynamics of the Privacy Tech landscape.

Dr. Mark Drapeau is Editor In Chief of the Data Catalyst Institute.