In response to increased scrutiny over companies' collection and use of healthcare and other data, the newest trend in the tech startup world is a focus on data privacy and protection, NBC News reports.
These new companies serve both consumers and corporations: They offer software to help consumers remove their personal information from unwanted databases and to help companies comply with laws and regulations such as California's new Consumer Privacy Act.
And the sector is in the midst of exponential growth. The number of industry-serving privacy startups alone has reportedly increased fivefold since 2017, from 44 early that year to 259 in October 2019, according to data from the International Association of Privacy Professionals cited by NBC News.
"We've just created a privacy industry," Alastair Mactaggart, head of Californians for Consumer Privacy and one of the architects of the new law, told NBC News.
Read more here.