Do you think global companies should take measures to ensure that customers' data privacy is maintained? Give reasons to support your answer.

Answers will vary. Global companies are facing increased pressure to ensure that customers' data privacy is maintained. For instance, in October 2016, the European Union (EU) established the General Data Protection Regulation. This regulation identifies who is accountable for data security and details what data flows are allowed between EU member states and those outside the zone. In the crosshairs is WhatsApp and its global parent, Facebook. When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, it asked WhatsApp to share customer information with Facebook. However, EU regulators asked the firm to stop sharing data with Facebook because the approval to share data was not in the original user agreement. The regulation requires that personal data remain in the European Union unless the country or territory "ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data." Many countries have similar regulations limiting the flow of information between countries and requiring data about its nationals to be stored within the country.
The section "e-Commerce and Data Privacy" on page 67 discusses why global companies should ensure that customers' data privacy is maintained. Students can use this section to make their own interpretation and answer this question.