2023 started much the same as the year before, with state legislatures producing an impressive list of privacy-related bills in the U.S. Twenty-three states introduced comprehensive privacy legislation, with many more targeted privacy bills being considered as well. Iowa's governor signed the sixth comprehensive privacy law to close out the quarter.

We’ve all seen it in the movies: The chief of security declares that no one could ever steal the “Famous Jewel” because it’s protected by thick glass, an impenetrable system of motion-detecting lasers, and, finally, a weight-sensitive sensor. Cut to the next scene, where a thief, dressed in sleek black, zip-lines from an open skylight, shorts the lasers, scores the glass, and with split-second timing, swaps the jewel for a replica of equal weight.

When a country throws a privacy party, Cloudflare is there! We are proud to be an official sponsor of the Australian Privacy Awareness Week 2023, and we think this year’s theme of “Privacy 101: Back to Basics” is more important now than ever. In recent months, Australians have been hit with the news of massive personal data privacy breaches where millions of Australian citizens' private and sensitive data was compromised, seemingly easily.

A privacy policy is a statement that companies have on their website that informs users about the collection, processing, protection and use of their private data. Users are often prompted to review and accept privacy policies, but many of them don’t read through these policies because they don’t think it’s necessary. It’s important to read through these policies to know what information is being collected and how it’s being used.

‍ With new data privacy regulations going into effect across the globe, small and medium-sized businesses struggle with addressing them effectively. This blog recaps nine key components you should include in your organization’s data privacy program.