If you think about Privacy Policies, you probably dread the idea of reading through endless amounts of legalese that the average human being tries to avoid at all costs.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is common for these policies to be buried beneath pages and pages of content on websites. There’s a reason for this, and it has to do with the fact that businesses are unlikely to incorporate 100-page policies onto their websites that will appeal to current and potential customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past few years, however, there have been fundamental changes in the way websites create and implement their privacy policies.\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported in the news, Cambridge Analytica misappropriated the personal information of millions of Facebook users.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This resulted in an outcry from consumers calling for their sensitive information be protected and used for appropriate purposes. And regulators responded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2018, the European Union began enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)<\/a>, considered to be the most comprehensive privacy legislation in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law provides consumers with a variety of privacy rights, including the right to request the deletion of collected personal information and the right to request the correction of collected personal information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, businesses are required to include specific disclosures regarding the processing and use of personal information in their online Privacy Policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar to Europe, the United States has seen a rise in the passing of comprehensive privacy laws at the state level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The California Consumer Privacy Act (\u201cCCPA\u201d)<\/a> is a prime example of this. The law requires certain businesses<\/a> to ensure their Privacy Policies disclose the categories of personally identifiable information (\u201cPII\u201d)<\/a> that the business has collected and sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CCPA, similar to the GDPR, also provides consumers with the ability to request the deletion of their collected PII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Given the recent changes in the privacy law landscape, businesses will need to respond accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laws like the GDPR and CCPA are not going away. Because of this reality, Privacy Policies will have to act as \u201cliving documents\u201d that update as laws change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An updated Privacy Policy will result in greater protection for your business against potential fines and lawsuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article will discuss the following three topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The overall purpose of a Privacy Policy is to better inform consumers of their privacy rights under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the Privacy Policy should provide an opportunity for the business to fully and accurately disclose its information-sharing practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ultimate goal is to establish a relationship of trust between the consumer and the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, Privacy Policies should contain the following components: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the problem: with so many privacy laws on the books, how do I know which law(s) apply to my business? The answer will directly impact what disclosures are required to be made within your Privacy Policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But irrespective of\u00a0what law may apply to your business<\/a>, the goal of an online Privacy Policy should be clear: to build consumer confidence that your business is responsible for handling and protecting PII.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is important because consumers, now more than ever, are taking a business\u2019s information-sharing practices into account when deciding whether to make purchases and subscribe to services online.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you implement strategies pursuant to updating your Privacy Policy, you may ultimately need key stakeholders to support the project. Stressing the point that updated Privacy Policies foster consumer trust, in addition to protecting the business against potential fines and lawsuits, is a sound strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Set to be enforced on July 1st, 2020<\/a>, the CCPA provides Californians with a variety of privacy rights. These rights allow consumers to request the deletion of their PII, request a variety of disclosures relating to what PII has been collected and who has accessed it, and \u201copt-out\u201d of the sale of the PII to third parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBusinesses\u201d as defined by the CCPA must comply with the requirements of the law. A \u201cbusiness\u201d must meet all of the following criteria: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Provided that an entity qualifies as a \u201cbusiness\u201d and falls under one of the following three categories, it must comply with the CCPA, irrespective of whether the business is actually located in California: <\/p>\n\n\n\n To say that the CCPA has caused stress amongst businesses is an understatement. The law has fundamentally changed the privacy law landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the process, businesses are facing new obligations related to the content of their online Privacy Policies. The CCPA requires that the following components be contained within a business\u2019s Privacy Policy: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Provided that your business is required to comply with the CCPA, you will need a strategy to ensure that your online Privacy Policy is up to date and in compliance with the law. Failing to do so could result in significant fines and penalties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Provided that your business must comply with the CCPA, or another state privacy law<\/a>, you must identify and implement a strategy for keeping your website\u2019s Privacy Policy up to date. The best course of action for updating the Privacy Policy will depend on a variety of factors, including the <\/p>\n\n\n\n size of your business, who is involved in the handling of the information, and the information you collect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Strategies for updating your Privacy Policy include the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, businesses may obtain a compliant Privacy Policy by using Termageddon\u2019s Privacy Policy generator<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This tool automatically updates your Privacy Policy to ensure that it is in compliance with laws such as the CCPA. As a result, you will significantly reduce your business\u2019s chances of being fined or directly sued by a consumer protected under the law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of the strategy adopted, updating the Privacy Policy requires a comprehensive understanding of the lifecycle of the data handled by your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To that end, key stakeholders involved in the lifecycle of the data will need to be interviewed and included in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n These stakeholders include the Human Resources department in charge of employee data, the information technology team, the legal department, and key leaders within the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the data lifecycle research, it is important to ensure that your data collection methods are examined. Most often you are utilizing some sort of form to collect information and the form structure and plugin itself should be evaluated. We recommend weForms as the best\u00a0contact form plugin<\/a>\u00a0to build forms on your WordPress site and offer a special\u00a0discount available on Termageddon<\/a>\u00a0by using the code WEFORMS at checkout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once a comprehensive understanding of the data lifecycle is reached, then your business can be confident in developing a strategy and process for updating your online Privacy Policy. The ultimate goal is to fully and accurately disclose the business\u2019s information sharing practices, as well as inform consumers of their privacy rights under the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you think about Privacy Policies, you probably dread the idea of reading through endless amounts of legalese…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,57],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2499","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glossary","8":"category-website","9":"cs-entry","10":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\nThe purpose of a Privacy Policy <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The California Consumer Privacy Act <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ways to keep your Privacy Policy up to date <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n