Why 2015 Was a Historic Year for Privacy

[Commentary] The year 2015 may well go down as one of the most important years in the history of privacy and data protection. True, if feels like we say this every year: Another watershed year for privacy. But 2015 has been dramatic, significant and groundbreaking for privacy pros. And for many reasons. Let’s put it this way, the hack of 80 million Anthem users, the appointment of a new European Data Protection Supervisor and the passing of major new U.S. surveillance reform are but footnotes in this yearly roundup.

2015 saw agreement on the General Data Protection Regulation, the invalidation of the EU-US Safe Harbor Agreement, President Barack Obama featuring privacy in his State of the Union Address, stronger enforcement from the Federal Communications Commission, and more. As we move headlong into 2016, many of the issues that reared their heads in 2015 will continue to affect how privacy pros do their jobs on a day-to-day basis. Looking forward, will we see a new data transfer agreement between the EU and US? Will this new cybersecurity bill hurt those chances? Assuming the full Parliament passes the GDPR, how must organizations begin building systems and policies to achieve compliance? And in the US, how much of a role will access to voter data play in the US presidential elections?