Encouraging Consumer Trust Through Privacy Compliance
A striking 95% of customers said they would refuse to buy from a company if their data wasn’t properly protected (Cisco’s 2025 Data Privacy Benchmark Study). In an era where personal information is as valuable as currency, trust has become even more important in business than ever. Consumers are no longer passive about privacy. They expect and demand accountability. To meet these expectations, businesses must prioritize privacy by design, align with industry standards, and embed consumer trust at the core of their data practices.
Additionally, transparency continues to be important for consumers as the use of AI agents grows. This is evidenced through research conducted by Salesforce, an AI leader in enterprise software. Consumers want to be able to trust the companies with which they interact.
Emphasizing the Global Privacy Principles
The six global privacy principles should be any organization’s privacy foundation, and applying them requires specific action. Below are some examples of ways to apply each principle:
- Purpose Limitation: Require teams to document data use upfront. This encourages data usage that is in line with its original purpose.
- Data Minimization: Perform regular data usage audits to be informed about data usage. Delete information that is unnecessary.
- Lawfulness: Conduct assessments before processing and keep an audit record for legal justifications.
- Transparency: Standardize privacy notices and update users by clearly advertising such changes on a website or through acquired contact information.
- Protection: Only give data access to those who need it. Use role-based controls and review access regularly.
- Duration: Have a schedule in place that minimizes the length of data retention and includes dates of data disposal.
Aligning with Industry Standards
The privacy landscape is changing every day. New legislation regarding privacy laws makes it difficult to stay up to date with everything. Only the organizations that try to stay informed of current privacy happenings will appear trustworthy.
Understanding which policies organizations need to comply with—including GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), and others—is essential. While each policy is very comprehensive, here are some examples of what they entail:
- GDPR mandates data minimization, lawful basis for processing, and clear consent protocols for individuals in the EU/UK at the time of data processing.
- CCPA grants California residents rights to know, delete, and opt-out of the sale of personal information.
- COPPA imposes obligations on websites and online services that help protect children under thirteen.
- FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. This applies to any public or private elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school. It also applies to any state or local education agency that receives funds under an applicable program of the US Department of Education.
Organizations should perform regular assessments to evaluate compliance gaps, invest in staff training on data handling procedures, and develop privacy impact assessments for new projects. Additionally, adopting industry frameworks such as Nymity Privacy Management Accountability Framework or NIST’s Privacy Framework can help structure policies and ensure consistency across operations. Staying informed and aligning internal practices with these frameworks ensures not only legal compliance but also builds consumer trust and highlights leadership in ethical data governance.
Putting Consumers First
Demonstrating that consumers are at the heart of your data practices is one of the most effective ways to build loyalty. Helping them understand that an organization has them in mind can be shown through actions such as:
- Transparent cookie banners
- Just-in-time privacy notifications (e.g., pop-up messages that appear when a user is about to share data, such as entering their email for a newsletter, explaining how that data will be used)
- Timely updates to privacy policies
Clear, consumer-focused communication bridges the gap between policy and perception, building trust between organizations and consumers.
Taking Action Here at the CPC
At the CES Privacy Center (CPC), we strive to incorporate all these principles into our daily work. All employees receive frequent training about current projects and relevant privacy topics. This allows us to comply with industry standards, understand our consumer base, and more effectively implement the principles we are learning. Some of the training includes explanations about Privacy Impact Assessments, Third-Party Risk Management, our AI Tool Risk Assessment, and many more. Along with training, all employees have opportunities to conduct in-depth research that allows them to deepen their understanding of privacy. Everyone here works together to help all students, faculty, and staff at the CES institutions to feel more confident about the privacy of their information.