Privacy and data rules
122 of 521 companies dropped a paragraph in Risk Factors that uses one of these words:
privacy, GDPR, personal data, personal information.
The paragraph was in the earlier 10-K and nothing like it is in the latest.
It counts text; it does not say how serious a risk is. Words in capitals only (such as AI) must be in capitals.
By sector
Sector is the SEC's industry description of the company. Each count opens that sector's quotes below.
| Sector | Companies | Compared |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Peripheral Equipment, NEC | 2 | 2 |
| Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments | 2 | 2 |
| Rubber & Plastics Footwear | 2 | 2 |
| Transportation Services | 2 | 2 |
| Air Courier Services | 1 | 1 |
| Aircraft | 1 | 1 |
| Communications Equipment, NEC | 1 | 1 |
| Electrical Industrial Apparatus | 1 | 1 |
| Electronic Connectors | 1 | 1 |
| Farm Machinery & Equipment | 1 | 1 |
| Leather & Leather Products | 1 | 1 |
| Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment | 1 | 1 |
| Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products | 1 | 1 |
| Newspapers: Publishing or Publishing & Printing | 1 | 1 |
| Paper Mills | 1 | 1 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 1 |
| Retail-Eating & Drinking Places | 1 | 1 |
| Retail-Radio, Tv & Consumer Electronics Stores | 1 | 1 |
| Services-Advertising Agencies | 1 | 1 |
| Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, NEC | 1 | 1 |
| Telephone & Telegraph Apparatus | 1 | 1 |
| Television Broadcasting Stations | 1 | 1 |
| Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies | 1 | 1 |
| Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus | 7 | 10 |
| Computer Communications Equipment | 2 | 3 |
| Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies | 2 | 3 |
| Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. | 3 | 5 |
| Investment Advice | 4 | 8 |
| Retail-Eating Places | 2 | 4 |
| Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys | 2 | 4 |
| Accident & Health Insurance | 1 | 2 |
| Aircraft Engines & Engine Parts | 1 | 2 |
| Industrial Organic Chemicals | 1 | 2 |
| Oil & Gas Field Services, NEC | 1 | 2 |
| Printed Circuit Boards | 1 | 2 |
| Pumps & Pumping Equipment | 1 | 2 |
| Refuse Systems | 1 | 2 |
| Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses | 1 | 2 |
| Retail-Family Clothing Stores | 1 | 2 |
| Services-Computer Programming Services | 1 | 2 |
| Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, NEC | 1 | 2 |
| Services-Medical Laboratories | 1 | 2 |
| Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings | 1 | 2 |
| Ship & Boat Building & Repairing | 1 | 2 |
| Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products | 1 | 2 |
| Beverages | 2 | 5 |
| Biological Products, (No Diagnostic Substances) | 2 | 5 |
| Computer Storage Devices | 2 | 5 |
| Hospital & Medical Service Plans | 2 | 5 |
| Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies | 2 | 5 |
| Finance Services | 11 | 28 |
| National Commercial Banks | 4 | 11 |
| Semiconductors & Related Devices | 5 | 15 |
| Computer & office Equipment | 1 | 3 |
| Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics | 1 | 3 |
| Services-Prepackaged Software | 5 | 19 |
| Services-Business Services, NEC | 4 | 16 |
| Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) | 1 | 4 |
| Motor Vehicles & Passenger Car Bodies | 1 | 4 |
| Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services | 1 | 4 |
| Hotels & Motels | 1 | 5 |
| Laboratory Analytical Instruments | 1 | 5 |
| Pharmaceutical Preparations | 2 | 11 |
| Electric & Other Services Combined | 2 | 12 |
| Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance | 2 | 12 |
| Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service | 1 | 6 |
| Petroleum Refining | 1 | 6 |
| State Commercial Banks | 1 | 6 |
| Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas | 1 | 7 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts | 2 | 27 |
301 paragraphs · Paper Mills show all sectors
•Designing and implementing control processes to comply with additional regulations and laws related to the environment, climate change, privacy, and data protection in light of our increased scale and global presence.
Read in the 10-K filed Feb 21, 2025 ↗
Our business operations rely on securely managed information technology systems, some of which are provided or managed by third parties, for data capture, processing, storage and reporting. We have invested in information technology security initiatives and risk management, as well as incident response, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, but it is not possible to eliminate all systematic or external risk. Further, the development and maintenance of information technology security measures is costly and requires ongoing monitoring, testing and updating as technologies and processes change, and efforts to overcome security measures become increasingly sophisticated. Additionally, the global regulatory environment surrounding information security, data privacy and data protection is becoming increasingly restrictive and is evolving frequently.
Read in the 10-K filed Feb 21, 2025 ↗
Our operations are subject to regulation under a wide variety of domestic and international laws, regulations and other government requirements, including, among others, those relating to the environment, health and safety, labor and employment, data privacy, tax, trade and health care. There can be no assurance that laws, regulations and government requirements will not be changed, applied or interpreted in ways that will require us to modify our respective operations and objectives or affect our respective returns on investments by restricting existing activities and products or increasing costs. In addition, any failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations or other government requirements could have an adverse effect on our reputation and financial results or may result in, among other things, litigation, revocation of required licenses, internal investigations, governmental investigations or proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability.
Read in the 10-K filed Feb 21, 2025 ↗
Our global operations are subject to complex and evolving domestic and international data privacy laws and regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, the UK's General Data Protection Regulation, any supplemental applicable European Union member state or UK national data protection laws, China’s Personal Information Protection Law and comprehensive privacy laws in many U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Colorado, Utah, and Virginia. These laws impose a range of compliance obligations regarding the handling of personal data. There are significant penalties for non-compliance, including monetary fines, disruption of operations and reputational harm. Moreover, other states and governmental authorities around the world have introduced or passed, or are considering, similar legislation which may impose varying standards and
Read in the 10-K filed Feb 21, 2025 ↗
This increasingly restrictive and evolving global regulatory environment related to data privacy and data protection may continue to require changes to our business practices, and give rise to significantly expanded compliance burdens, costs and enforcement risks. Moreover, many of these laws and regulations are subject to uncertain application, interpretation or enforcement standards that could result in claims, changes to business practices, data processing and security systems, penalties, increased operating costs or other impacts on our business. Additionally, regulatory bodies and others tasked with enforcing privacy and data protection laws have been actively engaging in enforcement investigations and actions. These laws often provide for civil penalties for violations, as well as private rights of action for data breaches that may increase data breach litigation. We use internal and external resources to monitor compliance with relevant legislation and continually evaluate and, where necessary, modify data processing practices and policies to comply with evolving privacy laws. Nevertheless, relevant regulatory authorities could determine that our data handling practices fail to address all the requirements of certain new laws, which could subject us to penalties and/or litigation. In addition, there is no assurance that our security controls over personal data, the training of employees and vendors on data privacy and data security, and policies, procedures and practices will prevent the improper handling of, disclosure of or access to personal data. Improper handling and disclosure of or access to personal data in violation of other data privacy and protection laws could cause reputational harm and loss of consumer confidence and subject us to government enforcement actions (including fines), or result in private litigation, which could result in loss of revenue, increased costs, liability for monetary damages, fines and/or criminal prosecution, all of which could negatively affect our business and operating results.
Read in the 10-K filed Feb 21, 2025 ↗