Data Privacy Day

Most people don’t stop very often and take time to think about how much information about them is freely available to strangers. How much access should visitors grant social networks to when it comes to likes, hobbies and other personal information?

Data Privacy Day encourages each person – and also businesses – to ask these kinds of questions, and then to look after, value and protect their own and everyone else’s privacy.

How to Celebrate National Data Privacy Day

Looking for ways to responsibly observe National Data Privacy Day? Consider some of these ideas to get started:

Get Educated About Data Privacy

One of the most important ways to celebrate National Data Privacy Day would be to learn a little bit and make sure that knowledge about protection is up to date, because things tend to change rapidly in the online world! Check out some blogs or listen to some podcasts that offer sound advice for those who want to stay knowledgeable about data privacy. Among many available options, the US government’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers a number of articles on its blog.

Engage in Data Privacy Practices

It’s easy to get lazy about accepting data cookies without really thinking about what it might mean. A simple and easy way to celebrate National Data Privacy Day might be to make a regular practice of clearing out those cookies. This not only removes junk ads from devices and computers, but also provides protection from hackers.

In addition, be sure computers are protected from malware by installing and using a high quality firewall software with antivirus protection. Some free options can be found online, however a paid subscription is often more trustworthy and kept up to date.

History of National Data Privacy Day

Also sometimes going under the name Data Protection Day (particularly in Europe), this day came about by a decision that was made in April 2006 and officially declared by the Council of Europe at their gathering known as “Convention 108”. The motivation behind the day was to raise awareness and promote best practices to protect people’s privacy and personal information.

Data Protection Day was first celebrated in Europe in 2007 as an international event that occurs annually. Two years later, in 2009, the day was approved by the United States House of Representatives ^* with a unanimous vote, officially declaring National Data Privacy Day, and it passed in the Senate two days later.

In addition to nations and governments who recognize the day, many businesses and organizations have also gotten on board with standing with and celebrating National Data Privacy Day. A few of these include organizations like Carnegie Mellon University, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and many others.

With so much at risk through nefarious websites that engage in data trading as well as those who deliberately steal information, it’s important that folks are aware of the ways they need to be protecting themselves with software as well as just good practices.

Celebrating National Data Privacy Day each year in January is a great way to begin with an action plan to keep data protected and safe so it’s possible to rest a bit easier for the remainder of the year!