Caitlin Fennessy is the VP and Chief Knowledge Officer at the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the largest privacy association in the world facilitating conversations, debates, and collaboration among key industry leaders and organizations.

In her role, she leads the research team in developing content that helps privacy professionals understand the operational impacts of global data protection-related developments. Caitlin is a recognized privacy expert serving as an inaugural member of the UK International Data Transfers on the German Marshall Global Task Force to promote trusted data sharing.

With the US taking a fragmented approach to privacy laws, individual states are passing various regulations, and the likelihood of the ADPPA being passed seems unlikely. Meanwhile, data is becoming increasingly complex, and new technologies are emerging daily. So how are companies maintaining compliance in this evolving landscape, and what can you observe from their efforts?

According to Caitlin Fennessy, most companies recognize the elevated risks in the privacy landscape, and her organization’s governance survey reports a 12% increase in the size of privacy teams. AI poses one of the most significant risks in this space, so more than 50% of businesses have integrated AI governance guidelines with robust privacy programs. Caitlin says that the current regulatory ecosystem impacts these companies’ decisions significantly and that you should remain vigilant when sharing sensitive data and compare each state’s laws to stay abreast of new developments. 

VP and Chief Knowledge Officer at IAPP, Caitlin Fennessy, joins Jodi and Justin Daniels for this episode of She Said Privacy/He Said Security to talk about how privacy risks inform federal privacy legislation. Caitlin also explains the key takeaways from privacy violation fines, how privacy has evolved, and current industry trends.