What is a Privacy Policy?
A BRIEF OVERVIEW
A Privacy Policy is a document that discloses what personal information you collect on your website, what you do with that information, and who you share it with, amongst other disclosures. Your website needs a Privacy Policy if you use it to collect personal information such as names and emails. Most websites collect personal information through the use of contact forms or email newsletter sign-up forms.
Why is a Privacy Policy important?
IT CAN HELP YOU AVOID FINES AND LAWSUITS
Currently, there are multiple privacy laws in the United States and across the world that require most websites that collect personal information to have a Privacy Policy:
- European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
- United Kingdom’s Data Protection Act 2018 (UK DPA 2018);
- Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA);
- Australia Privacy Act of 1988;
- The California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA);
- The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA);
- Delaware Online Privacy Protection Act (DOPPA);
- Nevada’s Revised Statutes Chapter 603A;
- Colorado Privacy Act (goes into effect in 2023); and
- Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (goes into effect in 2023).
These laws were created to protect the consumers of those states and countries, not the businesses. This means that these laws can apply to businesses outside of those states and countries and may apply to you if you do business there, collect the personal information of residents of those states or countries, or offer goods or services there.
Fines for violations of privacy laws start at $2,500 per violation (per website visitor).
Why you need to keep your Privacy Policy up to date
NEW PRIVACY BILLS AND THEIR EFFECT
Several states have proposed privacy bills that, if passed, would require websites that collect personal information to have a compliant Privacy Policy. These bills all have different requirements for the disclosures that need to be made in a Privacy Policy and would impose heavy fines for failing to include those disclosures. In fact, some states are proposing to allow consumers to sue businesses directly for not having a compliant Privacy Policy.
More information can be found here: https://termageddon.com/us-privacy-bill-tracker/
If your website gets inquiries from across state lines,
your business may be required to comply with multiple state privacy laws.
Our recommended solution: Termageddon
AN AUTO-UPDATING PRIVACY POLICY TOOL
Termageddon is a Privacy Policy generator that will automatically update your website’s policies whenever the laws change.
For $12/month or $119/year, Cap Web Solutions will set your website up with an auto-updating privacy policy generator that can offer you the following policies to protect your website:
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Disclaimer
- End User License Agreement
Termageddon is the longest-running Privacy Policy generator listed as a trusted privacy technology vendor by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP.org).
Cap Web Solutions can help. Contact us today to help you get your policies set up or
Protect your business today.
Image Attribution: Typewriter Privacy Policy Image
License permits: Sharing, copying, and redistributing in any medium or format including adapting, remixing, transforming, and building upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The image may be redistributed for free under the same Creative Commons license but may not be sold, attribution is required to obtain and maintain a license.
License: Creative Commons 3 – CC BY-SA 3.0
Original Author: Nick Youngson – link to – http://www.nyphotographic.com/
Original Image: https://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/typewriter/p/privacy-policy.html
