Today, January 28, is Data Privacy Day. It is a day designed to raise awareness and promote best practices for privacy and data protection. The idea is to try and educate people on how to protect their privacy and decrease or control their digital footprint. Especially with today’s society’s use of social media, the amount of information one can put out to the world can be deceptively large. For this reason, the dissemination of proper practices for privacy and safety tips that can help one protect their privacy and data is an important venture.
Despite Americans’ growing awareness of, attention to and interest in privacy issues, more needs to be done to educate consumers on how their information is collected and how to manage their privacy. While 92 percent of U.S. Internet users surveyed worry about their privacy online (and 89 percent say they avoid companies that do not protect their privacy), only 30 percent understand how companies share their personal information. As our digital lives become more connected, many consumers are unsure of what happens to the vast amounts of personal information generated through their online activities. If consumers knew more about online privacy, they would do more to own their online presence. The Consumer Privacy Index indicates a need for better privacy awareness: consumers must learn how to better protect their personal information and manage their privacy.
Source: https://staysafeonline.org/blog/its-data-privacy-day-and-consumers-are-concerned-about-their-online-privacy/