Email Is Global, Unregulated and Invasive—But That's About to Change

Email is a cornerstone of business communication and has been for decades. It's a global and unregulated medium that's pervasive in our personal and professional lives. 

But as the world becomes more focused on data privacy and protection, it's only a matter of time before email undergoes heavy regulation similar to what web and mobile have experienced over the last several years with GDPR, CCPA, CASL, USP, LGDP, and others as well as the coming 2023 state privacy laws CDPA, CPA, CTDPA, and UCPA. 

There’s growing demand for tighter privacy regulation, and managing a remote workforce while using third-party technologies makes compliance a costly and multifaceted problem. The risks are high, with potentially crippling fines of up to $24 million or 4% of annual global turnover for failing to comply with local, state, or regional laws and privacy regulations. 

As a result, there is a current gap in the market for services providing email-based solutions that allow for better control over data collection, content, email gating, etc., to ensure compliance with current and future privacy regulations. 

In this article, we will explore the challenges businesses face in managing email compliance and offer insights into how they can stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

Navigating Compliance and Control

If you're a B2B marketer, you're likely all too familiar with the challenges of email marketing. It's not easy to keep track of who you're sending emails to, what you're saying, and whether your emails are read. This lack of visibility and control over email content and recipients is a major concern for businesses in today's climate.

In addition to these challenges, there's the issue of compliance with local, state, or regional laws and privacy regulations. The potential for damaging fines due to non-compliance is a risk that no business can afford to take. And with the growing demand for tighter privacy regulation, it's becoming more critical than ever for businesses to manage their email compliance effectively.

So what's the solution to these challenges? The market is ripe for email-based solutions allowing better control over data collection, content, email gating, and more. By using these solutions, businesses can ensure that their email marketing and sales outreach efforts are both effective and compliant with regulations.

The Risk You Can't Ignore

Employee email is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of managing risk in the modern business world. Even high-level executives don't always recognize the potential harm that can arise from unmanaged employee email. But with the global reach of modern business, the risk of email-related data breaches has never been greater. That's why it's essential to start thinking about employee email as a product that needs to be managed by IT and security professionals.

One of the most significant pain points is the sheer volume of emails companies send and receive. The risk potential is massive, with 10,440 emails per year per employee and a million emails per year for a company with just 100 employees.

But it's not just the volume of emails that's a concern. The lack of understanding around recipient data tracking and protection is also a significant pain point. Companies need to be able to regulate email content based on recipient privacy settings, location, and other factors. Without this capability, businesses risk violating local, state, or regional privacy regulations, which can result in crippling fines.

Another pain point is the lack of real-time control over email content. Companies need the ability to flag content, control attachments, determine information sensitivity, and enforce recipient blacklists in real time. Without these capabilities, businesses may be unable to respond quickly to potential data breaches, which can result in significant damage to both their reputation and bottom line.

Finally, failing to leverage privacy and business data to make better compliant business email decisions is a major problem for many businesses. Without the ability to analyze and understand recipient data, companies cannot make informed decisions about which emails to send and how to send them—resulting in missed opportunities, lost revenue, and reputational damage.

With all of these pain points in mind, it's clear that managing employee email is a crucial aspect of modern business risk management. The need for better email-based solutions has never been greater, and businesses that fail to take this seriously risk significant regulatory and financial consequences.

Compliance as a Product

You know how challenging it can be to manage employee email in a way that is effective and compliant with regulations. But what if we told you that compliance could be a product for email management? By introducing compliance as a product, businesses can take control of their email content and data protection in a way that was previously not possible.

But it's not just about the product itself. We also need to educate high-level management on the importance of employee email as a risk, as even they may need help understanding the potential risks associated with unregulated employee email. By highlighting these risks and demonstrating the importance of compliance, we can create a culture of compliance within organizations.

Of course, we can't just stop at education. We must also address pain points with email-based solutions that allow for better control over email content and data protection. This includes solutions for regulating email content based on recipient privacy settings and location, controlling attachments, determining information sensitivity, and enforcing recipient blacklists.

Looking to the future, we predict that email regulation and compliance will only become more important. As new laws and privacy regulations are introduced, businesses must be prepared to adapt quickly. And as the global data protection software market is projected to reach $26 billion by 2029, it’s only a matter of time before email undergoes heavy privacy regulation. 

With compliance as a product for email management, however, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that their email marketing efforts are both effective and compliant with regulations.

Take Control of Your Email Compliance

Email management and compliance should be a top priority for any business in today's digital age. The risks of non-compliance are simply too great to ignore. But the good news is that solutions are available to address these challenges. By implementing email-based solutions that offer better data protection, content control, and compliance capabilities, businesses can ensure that their email marketing efforts are effective and compliant with regulations.

So if you want to avoid costly fines and protect your business's reputation, it's time to invest in email management solutions. Don't let the lack of visibility and control over email content and recipients be a liability for your business. Take action today and ensure that your email outreach efforts align with your goals and compliance regulations with the Opensense email compliance solution. To learn more about your email compliance posture, get a free email privacy report here.