Seven privacy megatrends: A roadmap to 2030

Click down from the major behavioral shifts and stories that hugged the headlines in 2020 and you’ll find privacy as a strong undercurrent. What are the limits on asking about the health status of employees for workplace safety? How much can people trust the information being shared on the coronavirus and elections on social media? Where do people stand on the rights of groups to organize on social media platforms? How much value do consumers see in data mining of purchases so companies can follow their shifting preferences and needs, from toilet paper to bread flour to social fitness apps?

In 2020, privacy entered everyday conversations, as a plethora of books and films like The Social Dilemma lifted the veil on how much businesses and governments know about us. But it was also a year when individual companies took more strident efforts to roll out privacy-friendly interfaces and products.

And regulation has spread to protect more citizens. The share of the world population whose data is protected by baseline security requirements is expected to increase from 61% in 2020 to 82% by the end of 2021, according to PwC’s Ready Assess database of more than 2,500 data privacy and security laws and regulations. Coverage for data-breach notification could similarly jump from 37% now to 74% in the near future. 

What’s coming in the next decade? This analysis of seven forces and megatrends that are expected to shape privacy through 2030 can help you take action now. Companies that best navigate these seven privacy megatrends over the next ten years stand to gain a competitive edge over those that continue the sprint-driven approaches triggered by compliance with GDPR and CCPA. Companies will vie for trust, safety and integrity.