The use of digital media has increased by a staggering amount in recent years. The benefits are countless, but many risks are also involved with using it too much. For example, oversharing personal information can lead to data breaches or loss of privacy.

According to the identity theft resource centers 2021 Data breach report.

“There were 1862 data breaches in 2021, which are 68% more than compared to 2020.” 

In the United States of America, this number is growing by each year as people now understand the importance of their data like Personal Identifiable Information (PII) which includes names, phone numbers, ID cards, social security numbers, etc.

This raises their concerns as existing laws currently don’t fully cater to help protect US citizens’ personal or private data.

Thus, A new law was proposed to protect the privacy and security of individuals' data, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that is used in European regions.

To learn more about data privacy laws.

The Truth About Online Privacy Act 2021?

The privacy of thousands of Americans is being disregarded in the digital age, and companies are exploiting people’s personal information without them knowing. Such personal information can also lead to data theft, fraud, ransomware, or cyber-attacks.

So in response to these growing threats that now present a vulnerability in the digital world, two US congresswomen from Silicon Valley, Anna G. Eshoo, and Zoe Lofgren, proposed the Online Privacy Act of 2021.

The Act clearly states that:

The bill includes prior provisions for data subject rights and the creation of a digital privacy agency to handle privacy rights violations enforcement.

Additionally, the bill adds provisions for an office of civil rights within the new enforcement agency while allowing state privacy regulators to share enforcement powers alongside the agency and state attorneys general.

Highlighting Notes of Online Privacy Act 2021

The Online Privacy Act protects individuals, encourages innovation, and restores trust in technology companies by:

• Creating User Rights – The bill grants every American the right to access, correct, or delete their data. It also creates new rights, like the right to impermanence, which lets users decide how long companies can keep their data.

• Placing Clear Obligations on Companies – The bill minimizes the amount of data companies collect, process, disclose, and maintain and bars companies from using data in discriminatory ways. Additionally, companies must receive consent from users in plain, simple language.

• Establishing a Digital Privacy Agency (DPA) – The bill establishes an independent agency led by a director that’s appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term. The DPA will enforce privacy protections and investigate abuses.

• Strengthening Enforcement – The bill empowers state attorneys general to enforce violations of the bill and allows individuals to appoint nonprofits to represent them in private class action lawsuits.

To learn more about the Online Privacy Act Protection.

Rights of Citizens Under the Online Privacy Act 2021

The proposed law will grant US citizens a number of rights that helps them protect their Personal Identifiable Information (PII) and privacy.

• Rights of Access – Individuals may access categories of personal information for collecting, processing, maintaining, or disclosing to a third party. A covered entity that makes information available is required to be in compliance with such requirements.

• Right of Correction – Individuals may dispute the accuracy or completeness of personal information, and covered entities need to notify individuals for correction and completion been made or denying of request correction.

• Right of Deletion – Individuals may request for deletion of personal information, while covered entities are required to notify about the deletion of data or denying of request for deletion.

• Right of Portability – A covered entity that maintains personal information shall make available upon annual determination not less frequently than once per calendar year, drafting opportunity for public comment before publishing.

• Right to Human Review of Automated Decisions – Covered entities should inform individuals about what personal information is being or may be used for decisions. Individuals may request a human review of such a decision, and such review should be conducted within a reasonable time after the request.

• Right to Individual Autonomy – A covered entity shall not collect, process, maintain or disclose an individual’s personal information to create, improve, process, or otherwise link an individual with.

• Right to be Informed – A covered entity that collects personal information of an individual that includes contact information shall notify such individual within 30 days, in writing, if possible.

• Right to Impermanence – A covered entity shall not maintain personal information for more time than expressly consented by an individual. The consent is granted for a specific duration, like completing of specific request or transaction, until consent is revoked and based on reasonable expectations and norms for maintaining the category of personal information.

To learn more about Individual Rights.

How Does VIDIZMO Redaction Tool Help Protect Your Data Privacy?

As Online Privacy Act 2021 aims to protect and safeguard individuals’ personal information. So why not redact such kind of data to hide or mask it from prying eyes and keep it secure?

So What’s the Solution?

VIDIZMO Redaction Tool is an AI-powered tool that provides automatic and manual redaction. Its AI is trained to detect and redact faces, people, objects, audio, license plates, and much more. This process can easily be done by automatically redacting at a single click of a button through the easy-to-use interface.

VIDIZMO Redaction Tool complies with all data privacy and regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, FOIA, California State Bill 748 (SB-748), and others.

Features VIDIZMO Offers in Redaction Tool

VIDIZMO Redaction tool is an easy and effective solution to your redaction needs. It has the ability to redact multiple types of media formats like audio and videos.

Key Redaction Tool Capabilities include:

• Automatic Video Redaction - Redact faces, objects, full-bodied, on-screen text, vehicles, weapons, and license plates in videos accurately.

• Audio Redaction - Mute or bleep specific audio segments highlighting PII in audio files.

• Various Redaction Styles - Choose any style, such as pixelate or blur, or add a black box over the redacted items easily.

• Manual Redaction - Manually redact elements or redact simultaneously with automatic redaction for maximum accuracy.

• Automatic Face Detection and Tracking - Automatically detect and track faces frame-by-frame using Artificial intelligence.

• Built-In Video Editing Capabilities - Alongside redaction, we offer video editing capabilities.

And much More!

Learn more about VIDIZMO Redaction Features.

Conclusion

Each individual is vulnerable to privacy violations in the online world, and our personal information is taken, breached, or used for business purposes. So, it is imperative to have a law that counters this issue to protect the digital rights of people.

To learn more about VIDIZMO redacting tools or if you have any queries, feel free to get in touch with us or schedule a meeting with our sales representatives.