If You Build It, They Will Come - Part 2

Hello all, and happy Thursday! 

In Field of Dreams, a mysterious voice tells Kevin Costner “If you build it, they will come.”  

 While you might need a little supernatural assurance if you plan on building a baseball diamond in an isolated cornfield, we’re aiming to build something a little more common sense at Osano—no ghostly commands for us. (Has anybody ever mentioned how insane the premise of Field of Dreams is?) 

Yes, we’re building software. And yes, we’re building a company. Building a community is something I’d really like to add to that list.  

We hear time and time again from privacy professionals that they feel disconnected from their peers. Data privacy best practices are being developed in real time, and the only way for privacy professionals to learn about best practices, challenges, and strategies for success is by networking with other experts. There just isn’t always a space to do that. 

When we see a problem at Osano, we like to fix it. To that end, the Osano team has been hard at work planning and preparing events, meetups, and discussion spaces for privacy professionals–AND their peers in Security, Compliance, Risk, and more–to nurture their professional network and grow their community.

We’re hosting monthly meetups for open discussions on topical issues in data privacy and regular Women in Privacy meetups. We’re attending events like IAPP’s Global Privacy Summit. We’re conducting regular webinars to discuss major challenges and opportunities in data privacy. 

But most notably, we’re bringing the Privacy Pro Survival Summit back! 

On April 10th, we’re building off of the success of our first summit and putting the personal in personal data at the Privacy Pro Survival Summit 2: This Time It’s Personal. Save your seat to attend CPE-credit educational sessions and connect with your peers in the summit’s networking rooms. 

We weren’t commanded to host a second privacy pro survival summit by a ghostly voice, but we hope you’ll come anyways. 

Best, 

Arlo 

Highlights from Osano

What's New?

Podcast: Signal and Noise: The New Administration, Privacy, and Our Digital Rights with Cindy Cohn of Electronic Frontier Foundation 

Digital rights, privacy, and government policies have been a hot topic over the past month as the Trump Administration comes on board. In this episode, Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), discusses the evolving landscape of digital rights, privacy, and government policies impacting technology. 

Listen here 

Blog: Feel Like You’re Missing Something in Your Privacy Career? Building Community Is the Key. 

Let’s face it: Privacy is moving too fast to learn all there is to know from a textbook. Networking with your peers, sharing knowledge, crowdsourcing solutions to challenges—these are key to being a successful privacy pro. Find out what community events we’re hosting and why in our blog. 

Read more 

In Case You Missed It...

Blog: Introducing Osano's Ask a Privacy Pro Series 

There's a lot of uncertainty out there in the world of data privacy. Now, there's a little less. 

Osano's Ask a Privacy Pro video series gives you the answers you've been seeking. 

Watch episode 1  

Upcoming Webinars and Events...

Ask the CFO Anything: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (But Are Afraid to Ask) 

Like so many other professionals, privacy professionals are constrained by the resources at their disposal. Getting buy-in and budget seems like it’s an impossible task. There seems to be an impossible gap between what financial decision-makers see and what privacy professionals need. This webinar serves as the rare opportunity for privacy pros to ask the Osano CFO—someone with a foot in both the finance and privacy worlds—anything on their mind. 

Register Here | Today at 1PM EST! 

Get Out of My Brain: Neural Data & Privacy 

In March’s edition of our monthly meetup series, Osano’s Product Marketing Manager Jeff Reame and Senior Sales Enablement Manager Caroline Swanson will host an open discussion around the intersection of neural data and data privacy. 

Save your seat | March 12th 

Top Privacy Stories of the Week

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Announces Inves­ti­ga­tion into DeepSeek and Noti­fies the Chi­nese AI Com­pa­ny of its Vio­la­tion of Texas State Law 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is continuing his focus on data privacy enforcement with an announced investigation into DeepSeek, a recent Chinese AI chatbot competitor. Specifically, Paxton has notified DeepSeek that they’re in violation of the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), has sent civil investigative demands to Google and Apple for their analysis on the DeepSeek app, and banned it from all Office of the Attorney General devices due to security concerns. 

Read more 

Conflicts Over Access to Americans' Personal Data Emerging Across Federal Government 

The Trump administration's fast-moving efforts to limit the size of the US federal bureaucracy, primarily through the recently minted Department of Government Efficiency, are raising privacy and data security concerns among current and former officials across the government, particularly as the administration scales back positions charged with privacy oversight. 

Read more 

US States Take a Page from EU’s AI Act, But Biometrics Impact Likely Minimal 

America is grappling with how to regulate AI. Several states have passed or are working on legislation to regulate AI applications, but their focus appears to be on avoiding algorithmic discrimination and not on limiting public surveillance. 

Read more  

Oregon Attorney General Issues AI Guidance for Businesses 

Oregon lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 1571, requiring campaigns to disclose when they use AI to manipulate audio or video images, including deepfakes, to influence voters. Although SB 1571 applies only to political campaigns, the Attorney General has issued guidance that may be helpful to businesses seeking to minimize their legal risks in connection with the use of AI.  

Read more  

Meta's Revised Paid Ad-free Service May Breach EU Privacy Laws, Consumer Group Says 

Meta Platforms' revised no-ads subscription service may still breach EU consumer and privacy laws in addition to antitrust rules, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) said on Thursday as it urged regulators to act against the US tech giant. 

Read more 

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🎙️The Privacy Insider Podcast

We go deeper into additional privacy topics with incredible guests monthly. Available on Spotify or Apple.

📖 The Privacy Insider: How to Embrace Data Privacy and Join the Next Wave of Trusted Brands

The book inspired by this newsletter: Osano CEO, Arlo Gilbert, covers the history of data privacy and how companies can start building a privacy program from the ground up. More details here.

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