As the number of privacy laws worldwide continues to grow, businesses need to focus on privacy trends to protect users' personal information and comply with privacy regulations. Huge fines for breaching data privacy regulations are not the only reason companies must improve personal data security measures. As users' awareness about their personal data grows, handling personal data according to the law affects users' trust in businesses and influences the profit of companies. Here are the top data privacy trends and tendencies you need to understand in 2023.

Data Privacy Trends in 2023

 1. Global rise in data privacy regulations

The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe in 2018 initiated the growth of data privacy regulations worldwide. Today over 100 countries have privacy or data protection laws, and the number of countries is growing. The global rise in data privacy regulations will continue to rise in 2023. By the end of 2024, it is expected that 75% of the global population will have its personal information covered under privacy regulations.

2. Developing privacy regulations in the United States

Until 2023, only one US state had effective data privacy law. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was the first data privacy regulation in the US, which became effective on January 1, 2020.

In 2023, there are a number of laws that will enter into force:

California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) will become fully operative on January 1, 2023. The CPRA will amend existing provisions by creating new and expanded rights for California consumers: the law introduces increase protections for sensitive personal information, which includes social security, driver's license, passport, address, financial account numbers, and other highly private information. Consumers could limit the ability of businesses to collect or process this data.

Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) will go into effect also on January 1, 2023.

Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) will enter into force on July 1, 2023.

Connecticut Data Privacy Act will also take effect on July 1, 2023.

Utah Consumer Privacy Act will become effective on December 31, 2023.

Besides, four US states (Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) have active bills, which are supposed to be signed in the near future. Other states have privacy bills in different legislative processes.

In 2023, there will be continuous development of privacy regulations in the United States.

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3. Companies will invest more in privacy technologies

Privacy-driven spending on compliance with privacy laws will continue to increase in 2023. As new privacy regulations are evolving constantly, companies will invest more in privacy technologies to get the trust of users and avoid fines. Currently, advertisers and marketing agencies employ business models that rely on sharing personal information. However, this is changing fast. Privacy-enhancing technologies took the center stage in 2022 and will continue to rise in 2023. In 2019 Google launched Privacy Sandbox and is currently working on Trust token API and other privacy technologies to replace third-party cookies.

4. More privacy-related fines will be charged

In 2021 – 2022, big tech companies were charged with multi-million fines for the GDPR breaches. The total amount of fines appointed on Meta alone until the end of 2022 by the Irish Data Protection Commission for breaching the GDPR and ePrivacy Directive seeks nearly €1 billion. In addition, the Irish Data Protection Commission also has 40 open inquiries for other big tech companies.

This tendency will continue in 2023, and we should see more companies charged with big fines for breaches of privacy regulations, especially the European ones.

The privacy regulations and even cookies or other tracking technologies themselves are continually evolving, which means website owners should continuously update their current Privacy Policy and process personal information accordingly. Use CookieScript Consent Management Platform, which automatically updates the Cookie Consent and keeps your website GDPR compliant.

5. A cookieless future

A cookieless future is right upon us: with the increasing importance of first-party data and users' awareness of their personal data, third-party cookies are going away. Google has announced that by the end of 2023, it will officially stop supporting Third-Party Cookies on the Google Chrome browser. However, later it had to delay blocking third-party cookies until 2024 due to the full testing of technological solutions of alternatives.

The trend will continue for removing cookies in favor of consent-based data-collecting solutions. With the trend towards first-party data, advertisers and marketing agencies are increasingly interested in investing in direct partnerships with brands and businesses, that own the data.

Not sure if your website uses cookies? Scan your website for free and see what cookies, including Third-Party Cookies, your website uses.

6. A challenge with the EU – US data transfers will remain

On 16 July 2020, The European Court of Justice invalidated the EU – US Privacy Shield, which regulated the transfer of data from the EU to the US for data processing. As a result, there were no clear regulations about how to comply with the GDPR when transferring personal data from the EU to the US.

A new framework for transatlantic data transfers and storage, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF), has been agreed upon in principle by EU and US leaders. The draft was signed by US president Biden on 7 October 2022. On 13 December 2022, the European Commission initiated the process of the adoption of an adequacy decision for the DPF. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework is expected to come into force in 2023. However, until that time, the Privacy Shield invalidation will continue to be a challenge for international businesses.

7. Greater transparency in the collection and processing of personal data

User privacy survey shows that website users value data privacy, and over 50% of them would change service providers simply because of their data policies or data sharing practices. The trend will continue in 2023. Those businesses that handle the personal information of users seriously will see an increase in their active users and profits compared to their competitors.

8. Increase in requests and complaints of data subjects

Data subjects of the privacy regulations are becoming more aware of their rights and want to protect their personal information. As data subjects continue to exercise their right to know, update, delete, or otherwise handle the personal information businesses have collected about them, this will follow by a significant increase in data subject requests and complaints in 2023.

9. More data security and privacy job positions

Increasing and changing privacy regulations worldwide will lead to more data security jobs for humans in the coming year. The increase in related jobs in recent years dispels the myth that Data Science and Artificial Intelligence replace human labor.

Accordingly, new education programs in tech have been created in recent years to satisfy the demand for data safety positions. The need for experts in data security and legal advisers on privacy is increasing recently. The trend will continue in 2023.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Data Privacy Trends in 2023?

In 2023, there will be a global rise in data privacy regulations, developing privacy regulations in the US, companies will invest more in privacy technologies, a tendency towards a cookieless future, and others. Read more at CookieScript.

What privacy regulations will go into effect in 2023 in the US?

California Privacy Rights Act will become fully operative on January 1, 2023. Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act will go into effect also on January 1, 2023. Colorado Privacy Act and Connecticut Data Privacy Act will enter into force on July 1, 2023. Utah Consumer Privacy Act will become effective on December 31, 2023.

Which US states passed privacy laws that will take effect in 2023?

There are five US states with new comprehensive consumer privacy laws becoming effective in 2023 — California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah, and Connecticut. Follow CookieScript privacy laws to stay updated.

What is the California privacy rights Act 2023?

California Privacy Rights Act will become fully operative on January 1, 2023, and will amend existing provisions by creating new and expanded rights for California consumers: the law increases protections for sensitive personal information. Consumers could limit the ability of businesses to collect or process this data.