Information and communication technologies now enable firms to collect detailed and potentially intrusive data about their customers easily and cheaply. Privacy concerns are no longer limited to government surveillance and public figures’ private lives – thanks to social media and mobile technology.

Privacy regulations like GDPR may affect the extent and direction of data-based innovation but somehow these regulations have not significantly curtailed efforts to learn more about a customer’s personally identifiable data and used the information for commercial gains, and worst nefarious ones.

Welcome to PodChats for FutureCIO. In this episode we speak to Janice Chew, principal at JC Legal, to talk about Privacy and Innovation: From Disruption to Opportunities, and how to balance between protecting privacy while encouraging innovation.

1.       Please describe privacy in the context of information security, data protection and the private sphere. How are these connected (if at all)?

2.       Are businesses and regulators in Asia aligned in the interpretation of the boundaries of customer privacy? Are there any differences in Asia as it relates to the protection of customer privacy?

3.       To what extent are businesses observing privacy regulations while at the same time pursuing business innovation?

4.       What are the challenges that businesses must overcome to achieve a balance between privacy and innovation?

5.       Observers say that COVID-19 accelerated (is accelerating) digital-led innovation. How should enterprises push the boundaries of customer engagement and innovation without overstepping evolving regulations that protect privacy?

6.       In your experience, at what point in an organisation’s customer engagement strategy should the issue of customer data privacy be looked into? When should legal be asked to pitched in the discussion?