“USA! We’re Number One!” chants may sound great at political rallies and Olympic events, but they would not be accurate when it comes to protecting the privacy of its citizens.
Privacy Laws in Europe
In Europe, GDPR laws make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find a person’s home address, phone number, or other personally identifiable information on the Internet. That is especially good news for judges and police and social workers, not to mention victims of stalking and domestic violence. The last thing they need is someone with a grudge finding out where they live and paying them an unfriendly visit.
The US has a patchwork of privacy laws at the state level, some more effective than others, but few as stringent as those in other nations.
Vietnam Enhanced Legal Protections
The latest country to lap us on privacy protection is Vietnam. Last month a comprehensive data privacy law was decreed that takes effect on July 1 of this year, with no transition period. Contrast that with Indiana, a state that also recently passed a consumer data privacy law, but one that won’t become official until 2026.
Under the Vietnam decree the following data is protected:
- Name
- Birth date
- Address
- Phone number
- Medical records
- Banking information
- Digital account details
- Online activities
If you lived there, you would have the right to access and correct whatever data is stored about you, and request that this data be deleted. You can also initiate a lawsuit and claim damages from entities that do not comply.
Compared to the United States
While some state laws in the US have similar provisions, these restrictions are routinely ignored, especially by companies like data brokers that exist on their ability to sell or share whatever information they can find about anyone, regardless of how it may be used.
Right now California and eight other states have a law that prevents the private information of judges and police officers from being available online. We continue to find violations of this law every single week – and then we take action to enforce it.
Our online privacy protection program, IronWall360, scans the Internet for any sites where someone’s home address and other private data are accessible. We then contact that site to make sure that content is removed. And we don’t take “no” for an answer.
Does IronWall360 Work?
Our renewal rate in our program is more than 90% for over 10 years. Yes, it works. Find out more about why this service is needed more than ever, and why we’re the top choice for public servants in our space.
A law is just words on paper until it is enforced. That’s what we do. That’s our job. Let us go to work for you.
Contact us about online privacy protection, or speak with your employer about providing this protection for everyone at your workplace.
