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May 2018 should always be remembered as the month where every company in the world updated its privacy policy. In the months surrounding May 2018, you may have even heard terms such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) or Cambridge Analytica. Perhaps you even watched a few laughable clips from Mark Zuckerberg’s senate hearing. What you should be learning from all of these things, is privacy and security are being examined with a fine-toothed comb. The rules are being rewritten and hopefully made simpler so that the common consumer can understand them. Although GDPR is currently being enforced in the European Union, it is making waves throughout US companies.
For IoT companies who rely on personal information, require cameras and even microphones for their devices to operate, personal privacy is taking the forefront of public priority. Simply put, consumers don’t want to be spied on, and the more they learn about how their smart devices work, the less comfortable they feel using them.
Achieving GDPR compliance can be particularly difficult for IoT companies because of how personal data is processed in their devices. Gaining consent, then, is a matter of demonstrating how consumer information is protected resulting in a relationship of trust from the onset.
Consumers are watching the headlines. They’ve seen the Equifax breach, the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook scandals, among a handful of retail store breaches. No one wants their information compromised. It’s that simple. So use that base consumer need to set yourself above the competition. GDPR compliance should not be about avoiding fines, but developing trust with your customers. There are few things more valuable than consumers who feel safe using your brand because their will become your very own evangelists–if you earn it.
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