How do GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 impact System Design?

What happens when compliance becomes part of System Design, rather than a checklist after deployment?

Today, system designers must operate within a regulatory environment that shapes technical decisions from the earliest stages. Frameworks like GDPRGeneral Data Protection Regulation, HIPAAHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and SOC 2System and Organization Controls 2 for managing sensitive data, ensuring privacy, and maintaining security are no longer external constraints. They guide how data is collected, processed, and stored. They influence access control models, logging strategies, and cloud infrastructure choices.

These regulations also affect how businesses operate. Platforms that embed compliance into their systems are better positioned to earn user trust, scale across regions, and pass vendor assessments. Compliance is no longer separate from design. It is shaping the structure, behavior, and resilience of systems.

This newsletter dives into how GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 reshape System Design. We’ll cover their core requirements, impact on architecture, and the trade-offs system designers face to ensure compliance, reliability, and speed.

To begin, let's break down each regulation’s demands and how its focus areas differ.