Does Your Business Website Need a Privacy Policy?
Conducting business on the internet is extremely convenient, but can also be risky due to the threat of hacking, identity theft, and other types of fraud that may cause a consumer injury. For this reason, many people are wary to engage in transactions on websites they do not trust or that do not seem secure. One important step in assuring consumers that your website is safe is by having and posting a thorough and quality privacy policy.
What is covered by a privacy policy?
The following is information that should always be included in a business website privacy policy:
- The type of information the website collects, including names, contact information, and credit cards numbers.
- How the information is collected, including using cookies, account registration, signing up for promotions, checkout pages, and more.
- How your company will use the information and whether the information will ever be shared with third parties in order to successfully complete the transaction.
- Telling the consumer that they must consent to any further use or distribution on their information.
- Address whether you use cookies for any purpose, such as storing online shopping cart contents, tracking preferences of website users, or tracking their activity on your website.
- Your business’s contact information and a simple method of filing any complaints regarding privacy concerns.
- You should address any issues regarding the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)1 if you plan to collect the information of any children under the age of 13 and Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) if you collect any health-related information.
- Provide a clear method for consumers to opt out of any future communications from your business, such as emails, offers, newsletters, and
- Seal of approval provided by a commercial privacy service company to further ensure the safety of a customer’s information.
Every website is different, so your business may have additional issues that should be addressed in its privacy policy. An experienced business law attorney can assist you in reviewing you privacy policy to ensure you have all of your bases covered. Additionally, an attorney can help address any disputes that may arise regarding customer privacy matter.
Please call an experienced business lawyer at the Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess in Seattle at (206) 621-1110 or in Tacoma at (253) 572-1000 today.
