While lawyers chase the patchwork of privacy laws around the U.S.—and the world at large—companies are finding different ways to separate consumer identity from their data so it can be sold in ethical and profitable ways. As a result, terms like “anonymization,” “de-identification” and “psydonymization” are becoming commonplace even outside of legal. 

However, data privacy attorneys warn there is a serious lack of understanding around what the language actually entails and how the processes aren’t as secure as consumers and legal departments alike might think, making them vulnerable to litigation and loss of consumer trust.