1. DPDPA (Data Protection and Digital Privacy Act)
The DPDPA is an evolving framework designed to protect individuals’ personal data in a digital world. While specific legislation might vary by country or region, the act typically focuses on strengthening data privacy protections, ensuring transparency around data collection and processing, and giving individuals greater control over their personal data. The DPDPA shares many characteristics with the GDPR but is often tailored to meet specific local or national data privacy needs. In general, the DPDPA emphasizes:
- Consent-based data collection: Organizations must obtain explicit consent from individuals for data processing.
- Data subject rights: Individuals can request access to their data, rectify inaccuracies, or request deletion.
- Data breach notifications: Timely notifications must be given if a breach of personal data occurs.
2. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
The GDPR is a comprehensive data protection regulation enacted by the European Union (EU) in 2018. It governs the collection, storage, and processing of personal data across the EU and applies to all organizations that handle personal data of EU citizens, regardless of where the organization is based. The GDPR emphasizes:
- Personal data protection: It defines personal data broadly, encompassing any information related to an identifiable individual, including names, email addresses, IP addresses, etc.
- Data subject rights: GDPR provides individuals with rights like data access, rectification, erasure (right to be forgotten), portability, and objection to processing.
- Consent and transparency: Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Data processing must be transparent.
- Data breach notifications: Organizations must report breaches within 72 hours.
- Data protection by design and by default: Organizations must integrate data protection into their processes.
- Fines and penalties: Violations of the GDPR can result in significant fines, up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is greater.
3. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
HIPAA is a U.S. law enacted in 1996 to ensure the privacy and security of individuals’ health information. It primarily applies to healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, but it also impacts business associates who handle sensitive health data. Key provisions of HIPAA include:
- Privacy Rule: It establishes national standards for the protection of health information, ensuring that protected health information (PHI) is not disclosed without patient consent, except in specific situations (e.g., for treatment or legal purposes).
- Security Rule: Requires organizations to implement physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect electronic PHI (ePHI) from unauthorized access.
- Breach Notification Rule: Requires covered entities to notify affected individuals within 60 days of a breach of their health information.
- Penalties: HIPAA violations can lead to civil and criminal penalties, with fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 per violation, depending on the severity.
4. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
PCI DSS is a set of security standards designed to protect payment card information. It applies to any organization that stores, processes, or transmits credit card data, including merchants, service providers, and payment processors. The PCI DSS was developed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) and is composed of 12 main requirements:
- Build and maintain a secure network: Ensure that firewalls, routers, and other security measures protect cardholder data.
- Protect cardholder data: Encrypt sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, both in transit and at rest.
- Access control measures: Limit access to cardholder data to only those employees or systems that need it.
- Regular monitoring and testing: Continuously monitor and test networks to identify vulnerabilities and ensure the security of payment systems.
- Security policy development: Maintain an up-to-date information security policy.
- Compliance levels: Compliance with PCI DSS is graded on a scale (e.g., Level 1, Level 2) based on transaction volume, with more stringent requirements for higher levels.
Key Differences:
- DPDPA is generally focused on personal data protection in the digital space and may vary based on country-specific legislation.
- GDPR applies across the EU (and to entities outside the EU dealing with EU citizens’ data) and has far-reaching implications for how businesses handle personal data.
- HIPAA is healthcare-specific in the U.S., focusing on the protection of personal health information (PHI).
- PCI DSS focuses specifically on the protection of payment card information and is more relevant to businesses that handle transactions involving credit cards.