People living in the States need to be aware of data protection USA. What does this mean? And how can you follow this? Read on to know more.
Data Protection USA
In the USA, it is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that is responsible for this. The FTC was formed in 1914 and is a federal agency that’s tasked with protecting consumers.
The FTC’s designated areas of focus are:
- Preventing anticompetitive mergers and intercorporate activities;
- Preventing unfair or deceptive advertising practices;
- Protecting consumers against false advertising, product safety and data security issues, etc.
- Protecting consumers against unfair or deceptive business practices;
- Keeping children safe online;
- Enforcing truth-in-advertising standards and preventing unfair methods of competition; etc.
It’s interesting to note that the USA itself has no single data protection law to date. As mentioned above, it is the FTC that protects the residents of the United States from any unfair business practices. One that may result in a breach of their data.
Moreover, the FTC has several attorneys on its staff who work on matters related to privacy. They also have a separate enforcement office that deals with privacy violations.
Data Protection USA – What It Is
Data protection USA is about safeguarding the privacy of information about people residing in the USA. This means that businesses need to be mindful about what they do with this information.
They cannot just collect it, process it, store it and share it without any permission from the individual concerned. Or without informing them what they are doing with this information. This also means that if personal information falls into the wrong hands, an individual can complain to the FTC about this breach. And then make sure that this is resolved satisfactorily by the entity concerned.
Moreover, if an individual feels that his/her personal information is being misused, he/she has a right to ask businesses what they are doing with this data. And whether they are making efforts to keep this safe from breach or not. If not, then he/she can ask businesses to destroy this data immediately.
If you live in the USA, then you must remember these basic facts about data protection USA:
1) Businesses should clearly state how they use your personal information
2) They should be upfront about how long they store your personal information and should provide details of their data retention policies in clear terms
3) You always have a right to know what personal data businesses hold about you
4) You also have a right to see them remove any information held about you if you so wish
5) Finally, you also have a right to know how businesses are protecting your data. They must be clear about their data protection policies and compliance related to this.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is the FTC that is responsible for data protection USA. However, there are many businesses in the USA which are not following this strictly. Some do not even follow their privacy and data protection policies. If you live in the USA and feel that any business is doing something wrong with your personal information, you can always file a complaint with the FTC.