Self-Updating Privacy Policy Management

Who needs a privacy policy?

If your website has a contact form, it must display a privacy policy. A contact form that asks for a person’s name and email is actually asking for “Personally Identifiable Information” (PII). Many states have enacted privacy laws that impose fines for businesses and individuals for not having an up to date and compliant privacy policy posted on their website. Additionally, many states have proposed laws advancing through legislatures that will apply privacy regulations to businesses regardless of their location. That means that even though your business may be in say, Ohio, it will still need to be compliant with California law since anyone in that can access your website.

Privacy Policy Lawsuits on the Horizon

Several of these proposed laws will actually allow citizens to sue businesses for privacy violations. Many of the laws have no restriction on the size of the business or geographical location. The laws are designed to “outsource” compliance to citizens armed with lawsuits. This produces a multiplier effect for business risk. In addition to fines and other enforcement actions,  a cottage industry of lawsuits is on the horizon.