Twelve Investments Focused on Privacy for Businesses Ensuring Strengthened Operations by 2025

Twelve Investments Focused on Privacy for Businesses Ensuring Strengthened Operations by 2025

In a move to strengthen privacy practices and ensure compliance in the face of evolving regulatory landscapes, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) has unveiled a list of twelve privacy investments for companies. This list, detailed in their recent publication, aims to fortify privacy practices in the context of changes such as amendments to Australia’s Privacy Act, increased enforcement, and the growing influence of AI and automated decision-making (ADM) on privacy compliance and transparency.

The key themes of these investments encompass:

1. Enhancing Transparency around Automated Decision-Making (ADM): To meet new regulations and societal expectations, companies are encouraged to improve transparency in their ADM processes.
2. Improving Privacy Compliance Systems: As enforcement actions are expected to intensify under updated laws, such as the amendments to Australia’s Privacy Act, it is crucial to enhance privacy compliance systems.
3. Adapting to Cross-border Data Transfer Requirements: With recent reforms, it is essential to ensure that mechanisms for cross-border data transfers are updated accordingly.
4. Investing in Privacy-enhancing Technologies (PETs): To preserve individual privacy while enabling data use, companies are advised to invest in privacy-enhancing technologies.
5. Integrating AI Governance and Risk Assessment Frameworks: As generative AI and machine learning systems become more prevalent, it is important to manage transparency, bias, and privacy impacts associated with these technologies.
6. Staying Informed About State-level US Privacy Legislation and Emerging Areas: Keeping abreast of state-level privacy legislation and emerging areas like neural data governance is crucial to stay compliant ahead of new laws.

The FPF’s advice encapsulates a comprehensive approach that touches upon people, processes, and technology investments, fostering trust and compliance in an increasingly complex privacy landscape shaped by AI, data localization, and stricter enforcement globally.

For a detailed breakdown of the Twelve Privacy Investments list, FPF’s August 2025 publication titled “Twelve Privacy Investments for Your Company for a Stronger 2025” serves as the primary source. This publication offers a practical framework companies can use to audit and improve their privacy strategies in response to 2025’s major privacy challenges.

Additional Investments include:

• Considering Less Precise Alternatives for Processing Precise Location Data or Sensitive Data: To maintain privacy while still enabling data use, companies are advised to consider less precise alternatives for processing precise location data or sensitive data.
• Enhancing Vendor Management: Implementing technical monitoring or other controls can help improve vendor management.
• Mapping International Data Flows: Companies should map international data flows and track instances where data could be within reach of countries of concern.
• Preparing for Vigilance Regarding Personal Health Information: Particular care should be taken when handling data that may implicate personal health information, especially in cases of law enforcement inquiries.
• Deepening Relationships with Various Business Teams: To develop a forward-looking compliance strategy, it is recommended to deepen relationships with various business teams.
• Aligning Teams on the Use of AI Tools Internally: To automate workflows and privacy compliance, teams should be aligned on the use of AI tools internally.
• Considering Options for More Limited Uses of Teen Data: Due to increased focus on protections for users under 18, companies should consider options for more limited uses of teen data.
• Ensuring Good Data Governance and Data Inventories for Operations in India: With major changes coming with the implementation date of the DPDPA, it is essential to ensure good data governance and data inventories for operations in India.
• Reviewing and Updating Privacy Notice and Disclosures: To cover new data collection or uses planned in 2025, including secondary uses of data, privacy notices and disclosures should be reviewed and updated.
• Improving Clean Room Practices: To ensure credible technical controls, clean room practices should be improved.

These additional investments underscore the importance of a holistic approach to privacy, addressing various aspects of a company's operations to maintain compliance and protect user privacy in an increasingly complex digital world.

1. The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) suggests that companies should focus on improving transparency in their automated decision-making (ADM) processes to meet new regulations and societal expectations.
2. In order to enhance privacy compliance systems, companies are advised to prepare for increasing enforcement actions, such as those associated with amendments to Australia’s Privacy Act.
3. As cross-border data transfer requirements have evolved, it is essential for companies to adapt their mechanisms for data transfer accordingly.
4. Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) should be invested in by companies to preserve individual privacy while allowing for data use.
5. With the growing influence of AI and automated decision-making (ADM) on privacy compliance and transparency, it is important to manage transparency, bias, and privacy impacts associated with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
6. Staying informed about state-level US privacy legislation and emerging areas like neural data governance is crucial for companies to remain compliant ahead of new laws.
7. In addition to the initial list, companies are advised to consider less precise alternatives for processing precise location data or sensitive data to maintain privacy while still enabling data use.
8. Implementing technical monitoring or other controls can help improve vendor management, as part of strengthening privacy practices.
9. Companies should map international data flows, track instances where data could be within reach of countries of concern, and take particular care when handling data that may implicate personal health information, especially in cases of law enforcement inquiries.

These recommendations emphasize the need for a holistic approach to privacy, encompassing investments in people, processes, and technology, that fosters trust and compliance in an increasingly complex privacy landscape shaped by AI, data localization, and stricter enforcement globally.

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