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Privacy laws

Privacy laws vary by country and aim to protect individuals’ personal information from unauthorized access and misuse.

Below are the most important privacy laws from around the world. It is important to note that privacy laws are constantly evolving to keep up with new technologies and changing societal attitudes towards privacy. Organizations must stay up-to-date on privacy laws, local regulations and best practices in order to ensure the protection of personal information.

The most important
privacy laws
are:

European Union 🇪🇺

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation of the European Union (EU) that became effective on May 25, 2018.

United States 🇺🇸

In the United States there are several privacy laws and regulations on a national, state and local level. There is not one national privacy law in the United States. Certain states, like California, introduced their own comprehensive privacy laws and other states are expected to follow.

Canada 🇨🇦

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a federal privacy law that came into effect on January 1, 2004.

Australia 🇦🇺

The Privacy Act 1988 is a federal privacy law that sets standards for the collection, storage, use, and disclosure of personal information by Australian government agencies and some private sector organizations.

Japan 🇯🇵

The Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) is a privacy law that came into effect on May 30, 2017.

Brazil 🇧🇷

The General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados, or LGPD) is a privacy law that came into effect on August 16, 2020.

India 🇮🇳

The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (also known as the IT Rules) is a privacy and data protection law in India.

China 🇨🇳

China has several laws and regulations that relate to privacy and data protection, including the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, which came into effect on June 1, 2017, and the Personal Information Protection Law, which is still in draft form.

Africa

Privacy laws vary by country, with some having comprehensive privacy legislation and others having limited provisions.

Middle East

Privacy laws vary by country, but generally, they follow Islamic principles and are based on personal privacy rights outlined in the national constitution.

Russia 🇷🇺

The privacy law in Russia is regulated by the Federal Law No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data”. It outlines the rules for collecting, processing, and storing personal data.

Switzerland 🇨🇭

Switzerland is implementing new legislation to better protect its citizens’ data. Swiss companies will have to comply with this legislation from September 1, 2023.

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