To protect themselves from lawsuits and government investigations, many business owners have their websites reviewed for legal compliance issues at least once a year by an experienced Internet lawyer. These reviews often result in privacy policy updates to reflect new laws and regulations.
Here are three signs your website’s privacy policy is stale, i.e. it’s not providing you the website legal protection you need.
1. European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
If your privacy policy doesn’t address the EU’s GDPR, the policy is probably very outdated. Because the GDPR went into effect back in May 2018. The regulation needs to be addressed if your site has visitors from EU countries…whether or not you do business in the European Union.
2. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
California’s new privacy law went into effect on January 1, 2020 and started to be enforced on July 1, 2020. If you have California visitors to your website — regardless of where your business is located — you’ll want to make sure your site’s privacy policy either shows how you comply with the CCPA or explains why the CCPA doesn’t apply to your business.
Related Article: Privacy Policy 101: What Every Website Owner Should Know
3. Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGDP)
Following in the footsteps of the European Union, the Brazilian Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais went into effect in August 2020. If you have website visitors from Brazil, your privacy policy should either address how you’ll comply with the LGDP or why the LGDP doesn’t apply to your business.
IP Blocking Instead of Privacy Policy Updates?
Don’t be tempted to try to circumvent these privacy laws simply by banning visitors from the European Union, California, or Brazil. Even blocking IP addresses won’t prevent someone from accessing your site using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). It’s easier to make privacy policy updates that protect you than to try to evade these laws by blocking Web traffic.
What to Do…
If you need help with privacy policy updates or other website legal documents, the first step is to book a phone consultation with Internet Lawyer Mike Young.
