The Global Privacy Regulation Landscape

Privacy regulations share common themes while differing in specific requirements and enforcement mechanisms. GDPR, applicable to any organization processing EU residents' data, established the global template with its comprehensive approach to privacy rights. CCPA focuses on California residents but influences broader U.S. privacy discussions. Brazil's LGPD, India's proposed Personal Data Protection Bill, and China's Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) demonstrate the global nature of privacy regulation.

Understanding these regulations requires recognizing their fundamental shift in perspective: personal data belongs to individuals, not organizations collecting it. This ownership model mandates explicit consent for processing, purpose limitation for data use, and individual rights to access, correct, and delete their data. Storage systems must therefore support not just security but also data governance, lineage tracking, and rapid response to individual requests.

The extraterritorial reach of these regulations surprises many organizations. GDPR applies to any processing of EU residents' data, regardless of the organization's location. CCPA covers businesses meeting certain thresholds that collect California residents' data. This global reach means even small applications might need to comply with multiple privacy regimes, requiring flexible architectures that can adapt to different requirements.