Data Privacy Day is an international holiday that occurs every January 28. The purpose of Data Privacy Day (Data Protection Day in Europe) is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. It is currently 'celebrated' in the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries. In Europe it is referred to as Data Protection Day.
Data Privacy Day's educational initiative originally focused on raising awareness among businesses as well as users about the importance of protecting the privacy of their personal information online, particularly in the context of social networking. The educational focus has expanded over the past four years to include families, consumers and businesses. In addition to its educational initiative, Data Privacy Day promotes events and activities that stimulate the development of technology tools that promote individual control over personally identifiable information; encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations; and create dialogues among stakeholders interested in advancing data protection and privacy. The international celebration offers many opportunities for collaboration among governments, industry, academia, nonprofits, privacy professionals and educators.