Building trust in B2B data activation through data privacy and compliance

Highlights

You’ll learn about building trust with ethical data handling and privacy in B2B data activation.

Core principles:

• Data governance: Ensures data consistency, accuracy, integrity and security
• Customer consent: Clear consent for data use and informed opt-in/opt-out choices
• Transparency: Clarity on data usage and clear privacy notices build confidence
• Technical safeguards: Authentication, encryption, access controls and data masking

Leadership role: privacy-first culture and ongoing training boost trust.

Start adopting ethical data practices to protect your business and gain customer trust today.

Data activation offers real-time insights that power workflow efficiency, reduce operational costs and increase revenues. Hence, businesses invest in data tools and strategies to turn raw data into revenue. That introduces a challenge, given the huge data requirement. 

With more stringent data laws and privacy-aware global audiences, B2B firms must now be responsible in how they collect, process and use data. To do that, they will need robust security strategies, a cultural shift and accountable leadership.

What is B2B data activation?

Data activation is the process of consolidating data to provide real-time insights for teams across an organization. It involves data collection, analysis, activation and measurement.

B2B data activation enhances business agility, as data is ready in real time — you do not waste time working with spreadsheets or manually integrating data. You can also measure its ROI, ensuring you understand its impact on the business.

Given that it is a data-intensive process, businesses must adhere to data compliance laws and regulations frameworks for safety and responsible usage.

Overview of key data privacy and compliance frameworks

Knowing the key data regulations and compliance frameworks is crucial for handling data ethically in B2B activation. Here are some data regulations to be aware of.

• GDPR compliance: Since its creation in 2018, the GDPR has governed data use within the European Union (EU). It requires that businesses obtain user information lawfully, process data appropriately and ensure users have control over data usage. It also demands purpose limitation.
• CCPA and CPRA: The California Consumer Privacy Act grants California residents rights to access, delete or opt out of data sales. With its CPRA amendment of 2023, businesses will be held to account with strict requirements for data collection and use. They are also required to prepare for compliance as early as Q4 2025. 
• HIPAA and the accountability act: HIPAA, a US federal law, sets standards for health data. It emphasizes data protection, responsible usage and disclosure of protected health information (PHI).
• Global data protection laws: Other data laws also aim to protect users and prevent unlawful data transfer across different countries. They include Brazil’s LGPD, Australia’s Privacy Act of 1988 and India’s Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB).

Each of these frameworks shapes regulatory compliance and defines penalties. Businesses within their jurisdiction are to comply or risk heavy fines, depending on the level of default.

The cost of non-compliance with data privacy and compliance regulations

Data breaches are one of the top concerns for modern businesses. 81% of consumers will stop doing business with a company after a breach. Beyond the financial losses, hefty fines and legal issues, you also lose the trust of your customers. Here are the consequences outlined.

• Financial penalties: There are severe financial penalties for breach of GDPR. Fines can reach up to €20 million, or 4% of a company’s global annual revenue. We have seen high-profile cases such as Meta’s over €1.2 billion fine for unlawful data transfer and Amazon’s €746 million fine triggered by a complaint filed by 10,000 people. 
• Reputational damage: An Aon and Pentland Analytics report shows that a business can lose up to 25% of its market value one year after a cyber attack. For instance, the case of Capital One involves 100 million customers in the US and Canada. After news of its data breach broke, its share price dropped by 6%.
• Loss of business: Enterprise buyers favor partners with robust data governance and documented controls. Many companies have lost business and shut down due to data compliance and safety issues. Some high-profile cases include MediSecure and National Public Data in 2024, and Travelex in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Core principles of ethical data handling

Given the cost of non-compliance with data privacy and safety, businesses are minded to be ethical and responsible in handling data. Here are the core principles to note:

Data governance

The goal of a governance framework is to ensure that data is available, usable and secure. To ensure that, businesses must define ownership, track data sources and enforce quality standards. By doing that, they can guarantee data consistency and accuracy. A robust governance structure also strengthens data integrity. It also reduces errors and supports audit trails.

Customer consent management

Obtain informed consent. That way, people understand what their data is to be used for, the procedures, potential risks and benefits of data collection. Ensure that users have the option to opt in or out at any point. Also, implement the statute of limitations. That is, only store data for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and processed.

Transparency in data usage

Create a document that explains all relevant privacy notices, such as the types of data collected, the purpose of collection and third-party sharing. This proactive approach helps users understand what you need the data for. It also fosters confidence, easing data collection and processing. Clear disclosures foster trust and meet data protection laws requirements.

Technical safeguards for data security and safety

Aside from respecting the privacy and right of users to determine how their data is processed and used, businesses must safeguard customer data. That means having robust security measures and policies in place, such as:

Encryption and data masking

Whether at rest or in transit, businesses must encrypt and mask data for safety using best-in-class protocols. That includes:

• AES-256 for stored data and TLS 1.3 for network transfers
• Field-level encryption — mask PII in analytics databases to limit exposure
• Tokenization — to replace sensitive data with surrogate tokens in non-secure environments.

Secure data transfer protocols

Use secure transfer protocols when sharing data across systems, with partners or cloud services. That includes HTTPS with mutual TLS, SSH file transfer protocol and signed APIs with short-lived access tokens. You can also deploy a data loss prevention tool to monitor data flows.

Access controls and role-based permissions

Access to data should be restricted to specific personnel for specific use cases. An identity and access management system can be deployed to manage this process. Aside from that, the principle of least privilege also comes into play, ensuring that users and processes get the minimum necessary access for specific tasks.

Data erasure and the right to be forgotten

Set up a system to process deletion requests without undue delays. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) right of erasure outlines the conditions under which data should be deleted. Businesses must adhere to it. Also, verify the identity of data subjects before erasure to avoid malicious requests.

Sensitive data classification and handling

Treat sensitive data with extra care and responsibility. Tag sensitive fields, such as health data and financial records, and apply additional controls. Ensure that this kind of data is subjected to stricter monitoring and create alerts for classified datasets.

Compliance best practices for marketing teams

Gone are the days when marketers could collect and use data as they wish. These days, with stringent data laws and more aware customers, they must act with caution. Here are the best practices to follow.

• Privacy by design in campaign planning: Embed privacy checks into campaign workflows. Before launching an email campaign, ensure you have limited data collection to essentials. Also, document consent and update suppression lists.
• Consider the Portability and Accountability Act: This is more relevant for firms in the health sector. Implement PHI segmentation, consent tracking and regular risk assessments. Align with HHS guidance on breach notification.
• Regular privacy impact assessments (PIAs): Conduct regular PIAs for new projects. Ensure you document data flows, risk ratings and mitigation measures. Doing that supports ongoing compliance and informs governance updates.

The role of executive leadership and organizational culture

Yes. Executive leadership must invest in data activation to leverage the power of real-time insights. Beyond that, they have to ensure that the culture and environment support responsible data handling throughout the process. To do that, they must: 

• Build a privacy-first culture: Leadership must champion privacy in strategy sessions and ensure that tools, such as data activation layers and real-time CDP, adhere to the stringent security standards. They must also provide compliance tools, communicate the need for privacy and be open to periodic external audits.
• Support cross-functional collaboration: Get a representative from each department to form a governance team. That way, you can harmonize data needs and ensure cross-team harmony. Also, set up periodic reviews of incident reports, policy updates and audit findings.
• Establish a data ethics framework: Leadership must craft principles that support responsible and ethical data usage during data activation. The framework must be geared towards fair data usage, transparency and accountability.
• Provide ongoing training: In line with building a privacy-first culture, leadership must provide adequate training and resources for data privacy and compliance education. This can also be reinforced via periodic meetings and simulated breach drills.

Case studies

A community platform

Given that its team deals with sensitive data for an at-risk demographic, security was at the forefront of the community platform. The CTO wanted to work with a secure platform, and Contentstack provided that. Opting for a safe platform enhanced their business operations, improving productivity by 50% and publishing speed by over 75%.

“I’ve looked at more than half a dozen CMSes, and Contentstack came to the top for all the right reasons." said the brand’s content director.

Read more about how the Community platform increased productivity with a security-compliant platform.

MoneyHero Group

MoneyHero needed a secure platform to manage updates, verification and publishing across multiple markets. Contentstack's security, ease of use and flexibility appealed to them. After switching to Contentstack, they improved security, reduced time to market and streamlined publishing.

"Contentstack also provides many tools and APIs that let the engineers at MoneyHero Group build out exciting and fast user experiences across all our websites." Andrew de Ridder said.

Read more on MoneyHero’s success with a secure digital platform.

Measuring success and maintaining compliance standards

Every responsible organization, along with tracking the ROI of data activation initiatives, should also measure the success of its data regulatory compliance. Some key metrics to track include:

• Breach incidents: Aim for zero tolerance and total prevention
• Consent rates: Set a target of over 95% valid consent among marketing contacts
• Audit findings: Resolve 100% of critical exceptions within service level agreements

Periodic security reviews

Reassess architecture and workflows at least twice a year. Ensure that encryption keys are up to date and rotate service-account credentials every 90 days.

Incident response protocols for data breaches

Given the nature of data security, it always makes sense to have a plan for potential breaches. This is where a robust incident response strategy comes into play. At a minimum, it should outline your procedures to:

• Identify and contain the breach as quickly as possible

• Notify stakeholders and regulators within a specific period, say 24 hours
• Conduct a root-cause analysis
• Remediate and test controls
• Ensure proactive and transparent communication with affected parties
  

FAQ section

What is the difference between data privacy and data security?

Data privacy governs how and why data is collected, used, shared and retained. Data security deals with the technical controls and strategies to safeguard data from illegal access.

How often should a privacy impact assessment be conducted?

Aim to conduct privacy impact assessments at the inception of a project and whenever new data uses are added. Also, at a minimum, you should reassess on a yearly basis or after major system changes.

Can data masking replace encryption completely?

No. Masking hides data for specific use cases, but encryption secures data at rest and in transit. You should use both for more robust and layered protection.

Do all B2B companies need to comply with CCPA?

No. It is intended for entities collecting data from California residents that meet the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) thresholds of either over US$25 million in revenue or 50,000 households. However, other businesses are still required to follow global best practices.

Learn more

Data activation unlocks the right insights, allowing B2B firms to deliver tailored experiences that drive growth. However, they need to be transparent, ethical and responsible in using data to achieve that. By doing so, you can adhere to data privacy laws and compliance regulations, build trust and show your commitment to data integrity.

Contentstack supports this critical balance by embedding robust security features across its EDGE platform, real-time CDP and data activation layer. With enterprise-grade encryption, strict access controls and real-time monitoring, your data activation process can deliver on its purpose while you maintain a secure tech stack. Talk to us today to leverage this secure technology for your data activation drive.