With some communities pushing back against proposed data centers over concerns tied to water use, data center developers and others are working to tap technologies that will help to minimize the use of water to cool data center facilities. Organizations that invest in data minimization programs will be better equipped to handle privacy challenges and gain a competitive edge through improved efficiency and customer trust. The journey toward effective data minimization requires ongoing commitment, systematic implementation, and continuous improvement. Organizations that proactively embrace comprehensive data minimization strategies position themselves for success in an increasingly privacy-focused regulatory environment. The systematic implementation of data minimization principles reduces security risks, streamlines compliance processes, and delivers measurable operational benefits while building customer trust and confidence. Artificial intelligence systems present unique data minimization challenges due to extensive training data requirements and ongoing model improvement needs.

While the FTC has not yet finalized standalone data minimization regulations, it has been exploring the concept through an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on commercial surveillance. These rules often predate the term “data minimization” but enforce the same underlying principle. Approximately 20 U.S. states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws, and data minimization requirements appear with increasing frequency in these statutes. Article 5 GDPR – Principles Relating to Processing of Personal Data This applies to any organization that processes the data of individuals in the EU, regardless of where the organization is based. If an organization can accomplish the same objective with fewer data points, it is legally required to use the smaller set.

Data minimization refers to the principle of limiting data collection and retention to the bare minimum necessary to accomplish a given purpose. From an individual’s social media activity to the operations of global corporations, every online action generates data that can potentially be stored, shared, and analyzed. Your analytics data is protected by globally recognised security standards.

Ensure data minimization

EPA employees and contractors who support the CDX program are required to follow the CDX Rules of Behavior. “(a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’); Pinpoint delivers clear reporting, compliance, and oversight, so you can make informed decisions about your people strategy. The feedback we’ve had is a lot of people say it looks nice, and it’s very easy to use.” Pinpoint helps you reach the right people, prioritize quickly, and keep candidates engaged, so you can hire at scale without losing the ones you want on your team.

There are specific references to data minimization in Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, Brazil’s LGPD and a growing number of US state privacy laws. When it comes to data collection, the ad tech industry has long had a hoarder mentality. But rather than a tedious new requirement, it should be a benefit for both the company and the individuals it is intended to protect.

• The less data your organization holds, the fewer chances there are of compromising users’ privacy.
• The passage of Maryland’s privacy law represents another significant milestone in the rise of data minimization.
• The web and app analytics data you collect is a great place to start minimising data collection.
• While data minimization may seem straightforward, in practice, it requires businesses to rethink how they collect, process, store, retain, and delete user data.
• Additionally, GM sold consumers’ data to Lexis and Verisk without customers’ knowledge or consent, despite an internal privacy compliance program that required GM to inform consumers how their personal information would be used and the third parties that may receive it.

In other words, only people who need the data for their jobs can access it. This security method restricts system access to authorised users based on their job role and seniority. While deidentified data allows companies to share data freely across their organisations, businesses should limit data access as much as possible. Spend time training employees on your policy and the importance of handling personal data with care. It also clarifies for customers who are wary about how organisations use their data. The policy explains how your organisation handles personal data.

Businesses

The INCDPA Data Protection Impact Assessment does not carry with it https://cognifyo.com/articles/understanding-pcr-mouth-swab-testing/ a similar grace period; such assessments are required for processing activities that occurred on or after December 31, 2025. We recommend companies annually update their privacy notices to reflect new state coverage, 2026 rule changes, and heightened expectations around transparency, opt-out signals, sensitive data, and automated decision-making. As a leading global technology solutions provider to the investment management industry, Confluence helps clients solve complex investment data challenges across the front, middle and back office.

• Adhering to the principle of data minimization forces businesses to get serious about the kinds of data they’re collecting and why.
• • Senate Bill 762 would establish transparency standards by requiring the Michigan Public Service Commission to publish annual reports regarding the total energy expenditures and water usage of data centers.
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also required data minimization in a consent decree to better protect consumers’ privacy.
• This implies that only absolutely necessary data is being processed, and there is a significant reduction in frivolous data collection and storage.
• Employers operating in multiple states must follow the longest applicable requirement for each category of record, which often means retaining HR data well beyond when it would otherwise qualify for deletion under a minimization policy.
• In any discussion of privacy rights, it is also important to acknowledge the challenges around the various policy and regulatory requirements providing the «right to deletion.» This is particularly thorny in the context of AI systems, where validly held data was used to train a system, but the data is subsequently deleted based on data subject or consumer request.

There are tensions and tradeoffs between these differing data minimization standards, and policymakers’ choice of model will have broad consequences for individuals and for companies subject to these laws. Except for California, procedural data minimization, requiring that businesses identify specific processing purposes and not use data further than necessary to accomplish those purposes, has become the prevailing standard in state comprehensive privacy laws. Kiteworks supports organizations’ data minimization efforts by providing granular access controls so only authorized individuals have access to specific data, reducing the amount of data each individual can access. In response, a commitment to data minimization is becoming increasingly essential for businesses aiming to cultivate trust and https://www.datakom.lv/datakom-solutions/ai-solutions/ai-workflows/ foster a stronger bond with their customers.

Foundry empowers users to integrate, transform, analyze, and operationalize data across an enterprise, while securely collaborating and sharing data products. As data security and privacy obligations continue to expand—driven by newly effective state laws, heightened risk assessment, and audit requirements, AI-specific regulations, updates to children’s privacy rules, and evolving international data protection regimes—organizations should take proactive steps to evaluate and strengthen their compliance programs. Full substantive compliance for data fiduciaries follows in May 2027 (e.g., notices, consent, breach reporting, security safeguards, and rights enablement).18 The consent manager under the DPDP operates as a fiduciary of a data controller, giving individuals a platform to give, manage, review, and withdraw consent. The package would also centralize Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) practices by tasking the EDPB with producing EU‑wide lists of the type of processing requiring/not requiring a DPIA and providing a standard methodology and template for executing DPIAs.17

Step 5: Implement Access Controls and Data Governance

A critical first step is to acknowledge that data minimization is not the only, nor de facto the most important, privacy principle. It also requires businesses to delete sensitive consumer data once it’s no longer in use. For that reason, there appears to be an inherent conflict between the need to train and then test AI systems for bias — which requires the availability of sensitive data such as race, gender, age and other demographic categories — when often there is no other business need for such data, and companies complying with the standard privacy principle of collection limitation, also known as «data minimization,» largely prefer not to collect or retain this type of sensitive data. This law is also set to take effect on January 1, 2023, and contains language regarding data minimization. While there is not one standard privacy law in the US like there is in the EU, California, and now Colorado and Virginia, will soon have new privacy laws that will include data minimization principles. This is one major reason why data minimization should be the new mantra for IT professionals and anyone else managing a company’s data.

EPIC’s work is funded by the support of individuals like you, who help us to continue to protect privacy, open government, and democratic values in the information age. EPIC is happy to work with any policymakers interested in data minimization rules and frameworks. We were invited to testify in support of the bill in the House, and while Congress unfortunately was not able to pass the ADPPA in 2022, EPIC seized on this momentum to call on federal regulators to include data minimization standards in federal rules. The so-called data minimization found in the Virginia/Connecticut “model” and the other states that have adopted similar laws would allow these unexpected and unfair data practices to continue unchecked as long as these data uses were disclosed in a boilerplate privacy policy. The consent decree required that the company adopt a data minimization and deletion program to limit its collection and retention of customer information. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also required data minimization in a consent decree to better protect consumers’ privacy.