10 privacy tips for businesses

With privacy becoming ever-more important to consumers, good privacy practices are good for business. Follow these tips to protect your customers’ personal information and comply with the federal law.

1. Get your customers’ consent to collect their personal information and limit your collection and retention of it.
2. Ensure staff receive appropriate privacy protection training.
3. Limit and monitor access to personal information and take appropriate action when an employee accesses information without authorization.
4. Think twice before collecting sensitive personal information, such as driver’s licenses.
5. Inform customers if you are using video surveillance.
6. Have a privacy policy and be upfront about your collection and use of personal information.
7. Protect personal information on laptops, USB keys and portable hard drives through technological safeguards such as encryption and password protection.
8. Respond to requests for access to personal information in a timely manner.
9. Safeguard personal information against privacy breaches and report breaches that could result in significant harm to an individual.
10. Make sure your customers know who to speak to if they have questions about privacy.