Privacy is not enforced by legal teams. It is enforced by how you design database schemas, structure APIs, implement logging, and manage data workflows. Privacy by design means treating personal data as toxic waste requiring systematic containment and controlled disposal.
Most organizations treat privacy as a compliance checkbox. They implement a “right to be forgotten” button, display a privacy policy, and consider the requirement satisfied. In reality, personal data continues flowing through applications unchecked—captured in logs, stored in caches, replicated across databases, archived in backups. A deletion request arrives, but the system cannot actually fulfill it because it was never designed to support data deletion.
Privacy Engineering Practices
Effective privacy implementation requires architectural decisions: separating personal data from operational data, implementing retention policies in code, exposing data access endpoints, tracking data lineage, and designing APIs that respect purpose limitation. These are not add-on features—they are foundational design properties.
ISO/IEC 27701 provides the framework for implementing privacy as a measurable engineering discipline rather than a compliance afterthought.