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What is a Privacy Policy?The explosive growth of the web has led to many great things, but a few negative ones as well. The risk of the loss of privacy is one you should be aware of. Privacy Policy What is a privacy policy? In the simplest of terms, it is a statement by a site telling users how information is gathered on them and how it is used. This simple statement, however, misses much of the point regarding online privacy. A privacy policy is really a statement of both disclosure and credibility. If a site obtains information from visitors, it should disclose to those people how it gathers and uses said information. More importantly, it should establish credibility with visitors by noting how it safeguards said information and the extent to which it allows third parties to access said information. As a site owner, do you need a privacy policy? If you do not capture information from visitors, then you have no need for a privacy policy. The vast majority of sites, however, capture some information even if it is simply through cookie programs. In such a situation, you must have a privacy policy. There are also jurisdictional issues with privacy policies. The federal law on privacy policies is fairly weak, but one state has strong laws – California. If you gather any information on California residents, you must comply with California privacy law regulations. If you do not, you are in violation of said laws and could face the legal consequences should the state attorney general get around to prosecuting your site. Since California is always in need of money, this may happen sooner than you think! |
