Stories by Stephen Payne

The pace of change for privacy regulations shows no signs of slowing in 2022 or in the years ahead. The patchwork of state-level laws in the US will present a daunting compliance challenge for communication professionals, not only for corporate communicators but for PR pros in firms, those they represent and their businesses. Here, we offer a brief update on recent changes and what is ahead.

Just when you thought you understood the complexities of the relatively new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), on Election Day 2020, voters in the Golden State decided to take CCPA even further. By a wide margin (56-44 percent), they approved the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Think of this new package as CCPA 2.0. There is a lot to unpack in this new law and how it might influence communicators and their clients doing business in California.

Data breach. In this ever-connected world, those words conjure fear, and rightly so. Click on an innocent-looking email, webpage URL or attachment, and the next thing you know, someone has access to your email

Data is critical to measurement. But what about data privacy? And why do communicators need to know about data privacy? In short, privacy laws are everywhere, argues Stephen Payne, the veteran communicator at Feld Entertainment who now also has responsibility for privacy. PR pros can benefit from at least a basic understanding of how data privacy laws work, he writes.

The diversity of knowledge needed in our profession continues to expand. We’re strategic advisors as well as communicators. As such, I’m seeing a greater need for continued learning. When I was in journalism school, I was required to take one marketing class. That’s right, one. Not that regression analysis is part of my day-to-day, but that class gives me more insight now than it did then. Communications is a business. A strong business education is critical to success.