More companies are hiring professionals to help them navigate the waters of data collection and privacy, but the windfall of the privacy professional does not necessarily equate to more privacy for consumers.
In a survey released this week, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) found companies in the Fortune 1000 spending an average (mean) of $2.4 million on their privacy programs, with most of the budget being spent on staff and legal fees. A third of the companies responding to the survey plan to increase their privacy program staff, while only 2 percent plan to cull workers.
But good news for privacy professionals is not necessarily good news for consumers. Such programs typically focus on minimizing risk to companies from the regulations focused on protecting consumers, not necessarily on improving consumer privacy. The approach that businesses take to privacy typically depends on their customers, J. Trevor Hughes, president and CEO of the IAPP, told Ars.
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