It doesn't matter where your company is based, or which country your target customers call home—an emphasis on data privacy is crucial to your business' success. New data privacy regulations will continue emerging throughout 2026, adding to an already-complex patchwork of laws impacting data collection and management. Below, we're highlighting the regulations that should be on every company's radar in the new year, along with key strategies for keeping your organization compliant.
In place now: Key regulations to know
Many important data privacy regulations are in place throughout the world. Here are some of the most prominent regulations your business should already be complying with (and a few notes on how they're evolving):
CCPA: The California Consumer Privacy Act affords customers in California more control over how their data is used. Some of the rights guaranteed to consumers under the Act include the right to have personal data deleted and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information. In the coming years, the Act will be updated to keep pace with evolving technology, and will encompass business cybersecurity audit requirements, obligations for businesses using automated decision-making technology, and more. Click here to learn more about your current responsibilities under CCPA (and its 2020 amendment, Proposition 24).
HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability Act protects the medical records and personally identifiable information (PII) of patients in the United States. In addition to requiring healthcare providers to ensure patient confidentiality, the act affords patients the right to have their information corrected, learn how their information is being used, and more. In 2025, major updates to HIPAA were proposed for the first time in 10 years, with a goal of improving cybersecurity for electronic personal health information. For more details on HIPAA, click here.
GDPR: The General Data Protection Regulation sets standards for the collection and maintenance of data belonging to customers living in the EU (regardless of where your company is based). Among other requirements, GDPR calls for businesses to be transparent about their data collection practices, secure the data in their possession, and delete information when it's no longer needed. To view all the requirements of GDPR, click here.
Note: The UK established its own version of GDPR in 2021. Click here for more information.
EU AI Act: Passed in 2024, the EU AI Act complements and builds on principles found in the GDPR (like fairness and transparency) in the specific context of AI systems. The Act assigns AI applications into risk categories, banning those deemed to be "unacceptable risks" and subjecting those deemed "high risk" to a series of legal requirements. To learn more about the Act, and how risk categories are assigned, click here.
PIPL: China's Personal Information Protection Law applies to all organizations collecting personal data in China, and governs how that data can be collected, stored, used, shared, and transferred. Noteworthy rights guaranteed to individuals under the PIPL include the right to know and decide how their data is used, correct and delete data, and request explanations for automated decision-making. In the spring of 2025, PIPL's New Compliance Audit Rules went into effect, making businesses responsible for producing evidence of their compliance with the law, rather than simple declarations. To learn more about the law's requirements and penalties, click here.
LGBD: Brazil's General Data Protection Law takes inspiration from GDPR, applying a similar framework to data collected from individuals located within Brazil. With Brazil representing one of the largest digital and consumer markets in the world, the LGBD is increasingly significant for multi-national organizations. In the coming years, new guidelines and regulations will be introduced for AI, collection of data from minors, and more. To read more about LGBD, click here.
Coming down the line: Regulations to watch in 2026
State-level laws: A few US states that passed privacy laws in recent years will see them enforced for the first time in 2026. Keep an eye out for:
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
Rhode Island Data Transparency and Protection Act
Updates to the California Consumer Privacy Act
The UK: In 2025, the UK introduced the Data Use and Access Act (DUAA), amending its version of GDPR to include greater flexibility and several key clarifications, though the core principles of the law will remain. The phased rollout of the DUAA has already begun, and will continue into 2026.
APAC: In the APAC region, multiple data privacy regulations have already come into play this year, and others are expected to be in place before the end of 2026. In addition to strengthening existing laws, many of APAC's new and updated regulations focus heavily on AI governance. Some important regulations to monitor in the APAC region include:
Updates to Australia's Privacy Act
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (partially in effect now)
Vietnam's Personal Data Protection Law
The costs of noncompliance
By prioritizing data privacy, businesses have always been able to gain an advantage when it comes to boosting their reputations and earning consumer trust. But now that data privacy is top of mind for lawmakers around the world, strategies for protecting consumer information are more than beneficial—they're a business imperative. In addition to reputational damage, failure to comply with data privacy regulations can result in:
Financial penalties: The more egregious the violation, the more the company can expect to pay. To get a sense of what a data privacy violation could cost you, consider the penalties established under GDPR, which can be as high as 4% of your company's annual revenue, or PIPL, which can be as high as 5%.
Business disruptions: Under some regulations, like the California Consumer Privacy Act, violations can result in an injunction, forcing businesses to freeze operations until issues are resolved.
Legal action: Customers impacted by a violation may have grounds to sue. A wave of lawsuits can quickly drain a company's resources and detract from its public reputation.
Strategies for promoting compliance with evolving data privacy regulations
Run a lean tech stack: When company data is spread between disparate applications, each with their own security protocols and privacy features, security vulnerabilities often emerge. This is especially true in organizations where shadow IT and unsanctioned AI usage is pervasive. Unifying organizational software solutions makes it easier to tighten control over your tech stack and monitor data access across departments. As a result, you'll be in a better position to implement data governance policies—and address noncompliance as soon as it occurs.
Develop employee training programs: Employees have a key role to play in maintaining organizational compliance with data privacy regulations. This means it's essential to keep them updated on new regulations, and the ways those regulations will impact their daily routines. Periodic team meetings or training programs can help ensure that all teams have the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to fully invest in your company's data privacy initiatives.
Vet all vendors in your ecosystem: When data is mishandled by vendors or third-parties in your business ecosystem, you may find yourself on the hook for the consequences. That's why it's important to vet your network upfront to ensure they have suitable privacy protocols in place. Developing a vendor agreement can be helpful for bringing everyone onto the same page when it comes to data privacy.
Audit for compliance: Assigning an individual or team to test out the efficacy of your policies and technical safeguards will help you to identify any vulnerabilities or instances of noncompliance in your operation. This could involve checking security settings to ensure they've been properly applied, or even simulating a breach to identify inadequacies in the company's security infrastructure. Frequent audits give you an opportunity to course correct before minor issues escalate into full-blown violations.
How Zoho supports data privacy
Data privacy is a core value at Zoho. We never sell your data, never use your data for advertising purposes, and never allow your personal information to end up in the hands of data brokers.
What does that mean for your business' data privacy initiatives? For starters, it means that the information you store in our apps is protected by rigorous privacy standards. Beyond that, Zoho helps you:
Streamline your tech stack with unified software solutions that support an extensive range of business needs.
Improve transparency and visibility across applications, ultimately promoting greater accountability and security.
Simplify cross-functional communication, making it easy to quickly share updates to data privacy regulations and changes to company protocols.
Wrapping up
Data privacy regulations have become stricter and more comprehensive over the last few years, and there's no indication that this will change going forward. If you haven't audited your company's data privacy policies recently, now is the time to review the systems you have in place, and strengthen any that are insufficient or out of date. With consumers and regulators becoming more invested in the protection of sensitive data, strengthening your protocols will be key to remaining credible and competitive in the future.
Zoho offers a suite of intelligent enterprise business software, including an award-winning CRM suite, the industry's only comprehensive analytics and BI platform, and a powerful low-code development ecosystem.
