data, or provide consent to use their personal data for other purposes. While we have implemented various measures intended to enable us to comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations, and contractual obligations, these measures may not always be effective and do not guarantee compliance.
Additionally, privacy or data protection laws and regulations may be modified, interpreted, and applied in an inconsistent manner from one jurisdiction to another, and may conflict with one another, other requirements, or legal obligations or our practices. Further, the existence and need to comply in certain markets could impact our ability to offer our platform in those markets (without taking additional compliance steps). As we continue to expand into new markets outside the U.S., cultural norms around privacy or data protection will vary from country to country and can drive a need to localize or customize certain features of our platform in order to address varied privacy or data protection concerns, which can add cost and time to our development of new features and platform enhancements.
We receive, collect, store, process, transfer, and use personal data and other user data. The effectiveness of our ability to offer our platform to users relies on the collection, storage, and use of this data concerning freelancers and other users, including personally identifying or other sensitive data. Our collection and use of this data might raise privacy and data protection concerns, which could negatively impact the demand for our services. Privacy and data protection laws could restrict or add regulatory and compliance processes to our ability to effectively use and profit from those services.
There are numerous federal, state, and international laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, information security, and the collection, storing, sharing, use, processing, transfer, disclosure, and protection of personal data and other content (such as the
CAN-SPAM
Act of 2003, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”), the Fair Credit Reporting (the “FCRA”), the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) guidelines related to communications with consumers, COPPA, the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act of 2020 (the “CPRA”), the General Data Protection Regulation, among others), the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries or conflict with other laws and regulations. We are also subject to the terms of our privacy policies, and obligations to third parties related to privacy, data protection, and information security. We strive to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and information security to the extent possible. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such laws and regulations that are applicable to our business operations may limit the use and adoption of our services and reduce overall demand for them. However, the regulatory framework for privacy and data protection worldwide is, and is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, uncertain and complex, and it is possible that these or other actual or alleged obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that we do not anticipate or that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Further, any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding the collection, use, retention, security, or disclosure of personal data, or their interpretation, or any changes regarding the manner in which the consent of users or other data subjects for the collection, use, retention, or disclosure of such data must be obtained, could increase our costs and require us to modify our services and features, possibly in a material manner, which we may be unable to complete, and may limit our ability to store and process user data or develop new services and features.
If we were found in violation of any applicable privacy or data protection laws or regulations, our business may be materially and adversely affected, and we would likely have to change our business practices and potentially the services and features available through our platform. Additionally, these laws and regulations could impose significant costs on us and could make it more difficult for us to use our current technology to promote certain offerings and connect Experts with Learners. Additionally, if a breach of data security were to occur, or other violation of privacy or data protection laws and regulations were to be alleged, solutions may be perceived as less