Data Privacy Week is here. And, as organizations use this time to assess their data privacy strategies, one thing is already clear. In 2025, managing data security compliance has never been more complex (or more critical).
With regulations like the EU AI Act, rising consumer expectations for transparency, and an increasing reliance on third-party vendors, businesses like yours will need to continue navigating new and changing compliance challenges.
To help you stay ahead, we’re highlighting three key privacy trends for 2025, along with some really useful insights that could help you refine your privacy strategy. Ready? Let’s go!
2024 in review: the privacy landscape
The challenge of compliance sprawl
In 2024, organizations grappled with an increasingly complex web of data privacy regulations. As far back as 2022, Gartner predicted that by the end of 2024, 75% of the world's population would have their personal data protected by modern privacy laws.
And they weren’t wrong. The IAPP reported last year that data protection laws now cover 6.3 billion people—or 79% of the global population.
This is good news, but it comes with repercussions. The surge in legislation means that organizations now need to navigate a multifaceted compliance landscape that can lead to resource strains and operational challenges.
Evolving consumer expectations
Throughout 2024, consumers became more vigilant about their data privacy rights, demanding greater transparency and control over their personal information. This shift prompted organizations to implement robust consent and preference management solutions to maintain trust and compliance.
Companies rushed in lots of new AI tool implementations and the underlying training of AI model training with personal data. This raised concerns about data minimization and device security because while the tools were new, customers still expected businesses to collect only the data they needed (and keep it safe).
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Privacy week trends: addressing the complexity of privacy
So, that was then. But what about now? Our experts highlighted lots of things to keep an eye on in 2025. Here are the top three.
1. The move to platform-first: Streamlining compliance with automation
As regulatory demands expand, businesses are increasingly turning to a platform-first approach as a foundation for managing multiple frameworks. This approach paves the way for centralized compliance solutions, where automated tools integrate various requirements to streamline processes, reduce errors, and free up resources. By consolidating compliance efforts, your organization can stay on top of new regulations with ease.
Aligning privacy strategies with AI strategies
The ongoing integration of artificial intelligence in business operations introduces new privacy considerations and growing data privacy concerns. In 2025, we expect organizations to develop AI strategies that further prioritize data privacy, so that new AI applications comply with existing regulations and ethical standards. This approach could help you stay on the right side of legislation while building consumer trust in AI-driven services.
The tools you’ll use to manage security and compliance will also benefit from AI. Think AI-powered questionnaires that reduce workload and repetition, and AI copilots that answer deeply technical and highly relevant questions in seconds.
Stay ahead of AI regulations—download the ultimate guide to the EU AI Act
The rise of integrated third-party risk management
With the increasing reliance on third-party vendors, managing associated risks becomes crucial. In 2025, organizations are likely to adopt security and compliance platforms that centralize third-party risk assessments and compliance monitoring. These integrations will help you maintain a comprehensive view of your supply chain and make sure that your partners stick to required privacy standards. The result? A reduction in the likelihood of data breaches originating from external sources.
Key data privacy challenges and how to solve them
1. A platform-first approach to scale your compliance efforts
As your organization grows, or the markets you operate in change, so do your compliance challenges—especially when managing complex documentation across multiple frameworks. A Data Protection Management System (DPMS) can centralize all essential compliance documents in one secure location on a single platform.
By leveraging dashboards and templates on platforms like these, you can streamline document creation, version control, and evidence collection, making audits less stressful and your compliance efforts more scalable.
Efficient document management saves time. But it also helps ensure that your compliance policies are always up-to-date and accessible, even as your organization changes and develops. DPMS features like these become a valuable way to strengthening continuous data privacy compliance as part of a broader security and compliance strategy. Automation also plays a critical role here, taking care of repetitive tasks so your teams can focus on strategic priorities.
Related: How a digital asset management system can streamline your workflow
2. Managing overlapping frameworks with one platform
Too many frameworks, not enough time? We hear you. With the growing number of privacy and compliance laws, businesses face the challenge of navigating multiple, often overlapping, frameworks. Without a structured approach, this complexity can lead to inefficiencies and compliance gaps.
The solution? A digital Information Security Management System (ISMS) that centralizes compliance efforts, reduces manual work, and ensures consistency across frameworks.
An ISMS indirectly supports privacy by creating a secure environment for storing and processing personal data. This helps ensure compliance with multiple frameworks and reinforces trust and data integrity.
By structuring, guiding, and digitalizing your compliance efforts in this way, you’ll reduce the burden of managing multiple frameworks and start achieving long-term protection with a lot less effort.
Related: Streamlining compliance with advanced policy management software solutions
3. Using the right tools to enhance third-party risk management
Modern businesses rely on a complex network of third-party vendors and partners, each of which introduces potential risks to your security and compliance efforts. The rise of integrated platforms that help with third-party risk management can give you the tools to monitor, assess, and manage vendor compliance in real-time. This approach makes sure your supply chain aligns with required privacy standards, reduces vulnerabilities, and builds resilience against external threats.
Related: Five key steps to consider on your risk management journey
Get compliant. Manage risks. Simplify your compliance journey
Achieve your privacy goals
DataGuard can help simplify privacy and compliance, align your organization with evolving frameworks, and build trust with customers—all from a single platform (with experts in-the-loop when you need them). Want to learn more? Get in touch with the team.
