DeleteMe’s 2025 Privacy Predictions

With Data Privacy Week in full swing, it’s the perfect time to discuss what privacy trends we expect to see in 2025. Accordingly, here are the five key privacy trends that will impact consumers and companies this year. 

Prediction #1 – AI will drastically increase business cybersecurity risk

In our last blog post, we talked about how AI will affect data privacy. You can read the post here for more information, but it’s worthwhile mentioning again. In 2025, businesses are already grappling with increasingly sophisticated attacks, and AI will tip the scales further in favor of cybercriminals.

AI enables faster, more complex cyberattacks. Malicious actors can now automate phishing attempts, making them highly personalized based on publicly available information, and also nearly indistinguishable from legitimate communications. This drastically increases the success rate of attacks, putting businesses of all sizes at greater risk.

Another concern is the misuse of generative AI deepfakes. Going forward, cybercriminals will increasingly use deepfakes to impersonate executives or employees, creating convincing fake communications to steal sensitive data or authorize fraudulent transactions.

Organizations will also face greater risks from within. As employees adopt AI tools to enhance productivity, they may unknowingly expose proprietary data. A single misstep, like entering confidential information into an unsecured AI tool, can have wide-reaching consequences. 

Prediction #2 – State-sponsored cyberattacks will be a top driver of breaches

Cyberattacks driven by foreign governments are nothing new, but in 2025, they will reach unprecedented levels. As global political tensions escalate, businesses will face increasing threats from state-sponsored hackers targeting critical infrastructure.

One factor that will exacerbate this trend is tariffs instituted under the Trump administration. These tariffs may motivate adversarial nations to retaliate through cyberspace.

Already, state-sponsored groups are shifting their focus to businesses and institutions in the United States, aiming to disrupt operations and access sensitive information. In November of 2024, T-Mobile suffered a massive data breach allegedly carried out by Chinese state-sponsored hackers. 

State-sponsored cyberattacks are often highly coordinated and well-funded, but not always. Sometimes they are standard phishing attacks that target both large corporations and smaller suppliers, which often serve as an entry point to broader supply chains.

The risks are clear: state-sponsored cyberattacks are no longer rare or limited to government agencies. Businesses must prepare for a future where breaches driven by geopolitical tensions become the norm. 

Prediction #3 – The FTC will see its powers reduced.

In 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will face increasing pressure to scale back its regulatory and enforcement powers. Under the new administration, the FTC’s ability to address antitrust issues and protect consumers from privacy violations will likely be curtailed in an effort to reduce red tape and simplify regulatory compliance for companies. This could also result in fewer investigations and weaker penalties for corporate missteps, which may sound positive to some people, but will actually leave companies at greater risk. 

Under a weakened FTC, social media platforms and other tech giants stand to gain significantly. With reduced scrutiny, they could expand their data collection and advertising practices that exploit consumer information. Meanwhile, smaller businesses may find it harder to compete without robust antitrust enforcement.

In 2025, the FTC’s reduced powers could lead to lasting consequences for privacy and consumer rights. It will be up to individuals, data privacy services, and advocacy groups to fill the gap left by waning federal oversight.

Prediction #4 – The alliance between Big Tech and the current administration will worsen consumer data privacy

Even beyond reducing the FTC’s powers, the new administration’s cozy relationship with Big Tech will erode consumer data privacy in 2025. By stripping away federal protections and regulatory oversight, the government will open the door for tech giants to prioritize profits over user safety even more than they already do.

One of the most telling moves is Trump’s repeal of President Biden’s AI executive order that addressed AI risks like discrimination and national security threats. Without federal safeguards, the rapid growth of AI will expose consumers to unchecked data collection, algorithmic bias, and security vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, a weakened regulatory environment means Big Tech will face fewer restrictions on how they collect, use, and share data. Companies will have the freedom to expand invasive practices like behavioral tracking and profiling, often without clear consent. Consumers, meanwhile, will have fewer options to push back or demand accountability.

For example, with looser oversight, we can expect an increase in hidden terms buried in user agreements, making it harder for consumers to opt out of invasive practices. At the same time, data breaches and misuse will become harder to detect, as weakened federal enforcement limits transparency.

Prediction #5 – States will continue to step up in the absence of a federal privacy law 

As federal lawmakers remain gridlocked on privacy legislation, states will continue to take the lead in 2025. 

Recent legislation demonstrates that this trend is already in motion. California’s Delete Act, which creates a universal opt-out mechanism for consumers from data brokers, sets a new standard for state privacy laws. Other states, including Delaware, Maryland, and Oregon, have passed or are considering similar measures aimed at strengthening consumer rights.

This patchwork of laws creates both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, state-level efforts are providing critical protections for residents. Opt-out rights, stricter data retention policies, and enhanced transparency requirements are all becoming more common. On the other hand, businesses now face an increasingly complex compliance landscape, with varying requirements depending on the state.

Also, many of these state laws are too weak to provide adequate protections. However, in 2025, the push for stronger state privacy laws will likely gain momentum. States are proving that meaningful change is possible even in the absence of federal action. 

Final Thoughts

While many data privacy trends may seem negative at the moment, the truth is that we are constantly seeing more awareness of the importance of securing personal data on the personal, enterprise, and state levels. Even as many Big Tech companies continue to disregard privacy, smaller companies are focusing on protecting their customers and employees in higher numbers than ever before. 

Ultimately, despite challenges, we believe the United States is headed in the right direction. The next several years will continue to make this evident to the entire world.