BIGtoken’s Top 10 Data Privacy Headlines From February

BIGtoken, Inc., the first privacy focused, opt-in, data marketplace, where people can own and monetize their data, publishes a monthly report on the top 10 stories in data privacy.

U.S. data privacy legislation took a step forward throughout February. Virginia state lawmakers passed the Senate bill to provide a basic level of comprehensive data protection to citizens; the Calhoun v. Google court hearing took place to discuss whether online data is personal property under California law.

1. “Virginia Passes Data Privacy Law,” ACA International - February 19, 2021
	○	On Friday February 19, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act was officially passed by the Virginia House of Representatives (89-9) and Senate (39-0). Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign within the next couple weeks. If Northam does sign, the bill will take effect January 1, 2023.
2. “Court Hearing in California Federal Court on Thursday, Feb. 18 may answer the question: do you own your online data?” - Data Dividend Project - February 19, 2021
	○	On Thursday February 18, the California Federal Court held a hearing on the lawsuit against Google for its alleged data privacy violations around its Chrome browser. Judge Koh asked many questions throughout the hearing, but focused on one very important question, is a consumer’s online data considered personal property under California law?
3. “TikTok owner agrees to $92 million privacy settlement with U.S. users,” NBC News - February 25, 2021
	○	ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, finally agreed to a $92 million settlement to settle data privacy claims from some U.S. TikTok users. Although ByteDance still disagrees with the claims, they reached a settlement to avoid further litigation

Facebook is scrambling to rectify the loss of WhatsApp users by developing an easier, more accessible approach to explaining privacy updates. While Apple’s new App Store privacy labels are receiving favorable reviews despite some flaws.

4. “Signal vs WhatsApp: A look at five privacy features” MSN - February 8, 2021
	○	A comparison of the two apps’ privacy features helps to show the difference between the different security elements within the apps.
5. “Facebook admits it bungled its WhatsApp privacy policy update,” - MSN - February 18, 2021
	○	Facebook published a blog post apologizing for the miscommunication between WhatsApp and its users about their privacy policy update, promising that they are working to “make our voice clear moving forward.”
6. “Following backlash, WhatsApp to roll out in-app banner to better explain its privacy update,” TechCrunch, February 18, 2021
	○	After losing millions of WhatsApp users, Facebook worked to regain some trust back by asking for their users’ feedback and listening to concerns. Resulting in the development of an informational in-app banner explaining their data privacy update.
7. “Why some like Apple’s new privacy labels, despite their flaws,” Vox - February 23, 2021
	○	Apple’s new privacy labels have received praise from privacy advocates. They’re easy to read and honest, which is always a step in the right direction. However, the average person doesn’t always know where to look for these labels and what to look for as well. To sum it up, there’s room for improvement.

With data mining posing a greater threat these days, the demand for elite security solutions is presenting a big window of opportunity for the data security market, and some companies are already making plans for new developments.

8. “Big Data Security Market is anticipated to grow to $36.55 Billion at a Healthy CAGR of 16.9% by the end of 2023,” - MarketWatch - February 15, 2021
	○	The “soaring demand” for high-security programs is projected to grow well into 2023 as more companies must adopt data security practices which often require reliable third-party managed security services.
9 “Very Good Security (VGS) Further Enhances Mission to Secure the World’s Information with VGS Control,” AP News - February 25, 2021
	○	Very Good Security, “the modern standard for data security and compliance,” has discovered a way for businesses to implement SOC2 compliance completely free with VGS Control, which will drastically reduce the risk of data breaches and hacks.
10. “GitHub CSO pledges more security tools, features for developers” VentureBeat - February 26, 2021
	○	GitHub’s very first CSO, Mike Hanley, pledges to prioritize data security by investing in better security tools as well as coding tools. “So much of the world’s development happens on GitHub that security is not just an opportunity for us, but a responsibility,” explained Hanley. This would enable GitHub’s 56 million developers the ability to fix vulnerabilities at a more efficient level.

About BIGtoken

BIGtoken® believes that data privacy is a human right. BIGtoken is the first privacy focused, opt-in data marketplace where people own and monetize their data. Through a transparent platform and consumer reward system, BIG offers users choice, transparency, and compensation for their anonymized data. Participating consumers earn rewards and advertisers and media companies get access to insights from compliant first-party data for marketing and media activation. For more information on BIGtoken, visit bigtoken.com.

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