Privacy-Enhancing Technologies in the Process of Data Privacy Compliance: An Educational Perspective

Achieving data privacy compliance presents a unique interdisciplinary challenge for experts from many backgrounds, particularly the technical and legal professions. As a potential solution for the legal mandate handed down by modern privacy regulations, Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) can serve as promising tools to help data processors demonstrate compliance. The implementation of PETs does not come immediately, however, and challenges in their adoption include their inherent technical complexity, as well as the lack of awareness and understanding of these technologies. In tackling these challenges, we investigate the educational needs of practitioners working in privacy compliance. Guided by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, we begin the discussion on how the adoption of PETs can become more informed, with the goal of improving the efficiency and privacy consciousness of compliance programs. To accomplish this, we conduct 11 semi-structured interviews, analyze the results following Grounded Theory, and evaluate our findings in a survey with 24 respondents.