As technology and the web have matured, new legislation centering around data protection has begun rolling out by state governments that requires our attention. Website owners are required to take special precautions with their online terms. Having an up-to-date, bulletproof privacy policy is now a mandatory requirement that is easily overlooked when numerous other decisions involved in building a website appear to take priority (content, e-commerce, search engine optimization, etc). But with so many moving components, it has been a burden to keep a privacy policy updated with the regulations of the times. That is, until now.
Razorfrog’s Solution For Compliance
At Razorfrog, we are taking a proactive stance to make certain our clients have the most thorough privacy policies in place that automatically evolve with the law as new legislation is introduced. We have partnered with Termageddon, a Privacy Policy generator, to ensure your privacy policy is not left behind.
Having a privacy policy may appear to be enough. However, as we all know, technology rapidly changes, and with it, the legal framework in which it operates. Over the next few months, two large privacy laws are planned to take effect (Nevada’s “SB 220” on October 1st, 2019 and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) “AB 375” on January 1, 2020). About a dozen other states want to pass similar legislation in the near future, which will require privacy policies to be continually updated at all times.
For an example of these auto-updating policies, take a look at our recently updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Noncompliance Penalties Are Expensive
Failing to stay compliant with the law may lead to a violation in Google’s terms of service, resulting in potential blacklisting or removal from search engine results pages (SERPs). Penalties may also be issued by state governments, leading to sizable fines for noncompliance.
With the vast majority of our clients located within the state of California, we’re mostly concerned with the California Consumer Privacy Act and its implications. According to the CCPA’s penalties, if a business does not comply within 30 days of receiving a noncompliance notification by the Attorney General’s office, they can be charged up to $7,500 for each violation. Additionally, any business operating in California can be penalized up to $750 per violation per user, which could add up quickly for larger companies with many customers. While not as costly as the EU’s noncompliance fees for GDPR, it is in every company’s best interest to be fully compliant prior to the law taking effect.
Google Analytics: Another Factor
As you may or may not be aware, all sites online that utilize Google’s Analytics tracking technology are required to have a privacy policy in place. We recommend reading our post “Using Google Analytics? Here’s Why You Are Required To Have A Privacy Policy” for more specifics on the latest compliance requirements when using Google Analytics’ tracking profiles. This is another great reason to implement an auto-updating privacy policy on your website.
We Have Your Back!
In the near future, our team will be reaching out to all of our clients to offer assistance with setting up auto-updating policies with Termageddon. If you have any questions regarding our new privacy policy services, or how to stay compliant once the new legislation has passed, please reach out to us. We’ll be happy to touch base with you to ensure there are no unexpected surprises moving forward.
