Rapid Growth of Technology and Data Protection

Data Protection Laws
Data Protection Laws
Introduction
The rapid growth of technology has led to an explosion of information. Technology has led to an increase in the collection and distribution of personal information through methods such as the Internet surveys. As a result, information privacy has emerged as a significant issue worldwide. For example, with more than 4 billion mobile users, there is extensive access to personal information. Governments and companies can access sensitive and private consumer data. Careless and unauthorized use of data can bring harm to private individuals but companies are careful in protecting personal data belonging to their customers. This situation has brought the need to protect consumers from violation of their privacy. Data protection or information privacy laws have been created in many countries globally following a breach of privacy in confidential data. This paper seeks to examine the legal issue of data protection by looking at the scope and history of data protection laws., highlight the legal cases that have changed data protection laws globally, and consider the future of data protection legislation.
Overview of Data protection laws
Data protection laws are regulations that prevent the misuse of sensitive personal data. Companies or their subsidiaries usually collect, secure, share, store, or send consumer data. Privacy laws help guarantee the security of data. Many countries worldwide have a comprehensive data protection law. For instance, in 2018, the EU launched the General Data Protection Regulation. However, the US does not have such a broad law. It uses a sectoral approach, which means it doesn't have a unified federal law for data protection (HG Experts). These regulations help prevent organizations from the unauthorized use of data.
Importance of Data Protection Laws
They help protect the fundamental rights and freedom of citizens. These laws ensure that citizens can maintain the confidentiality of their personal information. Exposing such information may bring untold harm to an individual or family. The regulations also help citizens from fraudulent activities. For example, privacy laws help prevent illegal access to an individual's financial records. It also helps prevent access to sensitive or embarrassing health information. For businesses and organizations, data protection helps them build trust with their customers. A person will likely share private information with an organization with a positive reputation (Bygrave, 2014. Thus, any organization must continuously review its data protection policy to maintain its public image.
Principles of data protection
Data protection laws are based on several principles meant to give citizens the power to control the use of their information. Wright and Raab (2014) highlight some of the privacy principles.
Openness and transparency: Stipulate that individuals must know how their data will be used. There should be clear and accessible information for individuals regarding the use of their data.
Data minimization: There should be a limit to information disclosure. It should be minimized to only the key stakeholders within the company. 
Information security: An organization must take proper care o...