What methods or techniques have you found effective for streamlining or otherwise optimizing compliance efforts for multiple privacy regulations?

The key approach is to homogenize the rules. Initially, you must read all the relevant regulations, as there are currently very few tools that provide accurate and up-to-date summaries of these laws. While I have a team to assist with this, the essential point is that a thorough reading is necessary. After understanding the regulations, you need to homogenize them and then determine, as a business, the level of risk you are comfortable with. Ideally, you would adhere to every law 100%, but in practice, this can be extraordinarily expensive. For example, if you are not subject to the GDPR but have a client or two in Europe, it might not be worth the cost of hiring a data privacy officer and other associated expenses. Therefore, you need to read the laws, work intelligently with the business, and determine your risk tolerance. Simply adhering to the highest standard for everything can be cripplingly expensive.

It’s fundamentally about risk management and understanding your obligations under different regulations. In my experience managing companies with numerous business units, each unit requires a tailored approach based on its specific risk profile. Most regulations share similar attributes but may differ in aspects such as disclosure timelines and data retention periods. For instance, you might plan for a 24-hour disclosure window but know that for certain regulations, you have up to 48 hours. Essentially, it’s about planning for the best and preparing for the worst. Managing risk involves having open conversations about where compliance is absolute and where there might be some flexibility. No one achieves perfect compliance across the board, especially if they are subject to multiple privacy laws.

It is often to have a system or toolset that can map evidence and controls to all relevant audits and regulations where the requirements are similar and not have independent motions, programs and audits.