Data Privacy Day will be celebrated internationally on Thursday January 28, 2010 for the third time. The U.S., Canada and the European Union will recognize the special day across all industry sectors and at different levels of government—federal and state. Even Canadian mayors are recognizing Data Privacy Day for its importance in protecting consumer information and to increase awareness about privacy rights and responsibilities.
Data Privacy Day 2010 is on January 28, 2010 (credit: iStockPhoto)
According to the Official Data Privacy Day 2010 Website, "Data Privacy Day is an international celebration of the dignity of the individual expressed through personal information." The goals of data privacy day are broad and include privacy and information security compliance, privacy rights and identity theft. Consumer outreach focuses on increasing the awareness to teens and young adults with respect to protecting privacy with respect to Web 2.0 such as social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and other websites where photographs and videos are shared.
The official goals of Data Privacy Day include promoting "privacy awareness and education among teens and young adults, focusing on the privacy issues raised by the use of social networking sites, cell phones, blackberries, online gaming, and other online activities and mobile devices. Data Privacy Day events and activities also stimulate the development of technology tools to promote individual control over personally identifiable information; encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations; and create dialogues among parties interested in advancing data privacy and protection."
Data Privacy Week is a time for organizations of all types—private, public and non-profit to review their privacy and information security practices and to educate employees on how to handle the sensitive information that consumer and employees entrust to the organization. Education is the most important factor in preventing identity theft and privacy and information security breaches. The articles published in this column can be used to formulate an educational program for employees as well as for students. The handbook, Privacy MakeOver, was written by this author to address the need for basic privacy and information security best practices and awareness education in small organizations.
Data Privacy Day sponsors include the Privacy Projects.org, Intel, Google, Microsoft, LexisNexis and AT&T. Intuit and Oracle are participating partners, and a list of more than 50 other diverse public, private and non-profit organizations are named as participating organizations on the Official Data Privacy Day 2010 Website. The official website provides links to many educational resources that can be used in the education of teens, young adults, parents and kids, governments, businesses and corporations and nonprofits.
Data Privacy Day is recognized each year on January 28th. This entire week is Data Privacy Week, and each January is Data Privacy Month.
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- America’s need for a Privacy MakeOver
- Local government—spawning grounds for identity theft
- Identity theft, privacy and information security—executive coaching
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