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International Data Privacy Day: Privacy tips

  • Personal information
  • Privacy

Data Privacy Day is celebrated across the world on January 28 to highlight the importance of respecting individuals information privacy.

To mark International Data Privacy Day 2020, we’ve put together some helpful tips for organisations to protect individuals privacy.

If you don’t need it, don’t collect it
Only collect the personal information you need to perform your organisation’s functions and activities.

Have a clear and accessible privacy policy
Be transparent about how you handle personal information. Make sure your organisation has a clear and accessible privacy policy that outlines the kind of personal information it collects and what it does with it. Provide a collection notice when you collect personal information from an individual so they know who collected their information, why it was collected, and if and how it will be shared.

Consider why the information was collected, before using it
Think about the original purpose of collecting the information. What would the individual expect? For more information on using and disclosing personal information, check out OVIC’s pocket guide to Information Privacy Principle 2 (Use and Disclosure).

Build privacy into your everyday work
Understand your role in protecting privacy and build privacy into your everyday work. Take a privacy by design approach to projects, by preparing a privacy impact assessment (PIA) to identify privacy risks. For more information on PIAs, check out OVIC’s PIA template and guide.

Understand privacy risks with new technology
Before using new technology in your organisation, understand how it works and identify any privacy risks. Create a plan to outline how any privacy risks will be mitigated. Consider whether the technology is still appropriate given the nature of the privacy risks.

Talk to your organisation’s privacy officer
Privacy officers are a great resource. Talk to your privacy officer to understand your privacy obligations and use them to help address potential privacy concerns.

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