When you use a website, you can deliberately or inadvertently share information such as your music preferences or credit card information. The website's privacy policy should state what information is gathered when you use that site and what you should expect will be done with the information gathered. Should I Add A Privacy Policy To My Site?If you create a website that gathers information about users, it may be best to include a privacy policy stating clearly what users should expect as a clickwrap (user clicks to accept the policies of your site before entering your site) or browserwrap (document is accessed from a link on your website) document. A clearly visible privacy policy may help you avoid liability if a visitor to your site is unsatisfied with how you use the information you gather and decides to sue you. What Should A Privacy Policy Contain?
This depends on the type of site you are developing and the nature of the information that you intend to gather. If your website targets minors or you are reasonably sure that minors use your site, you need to be sure that your site complies with the Children Online Privacy Protection Rule. In general, your privacy policy may state: - If you use cookies or save cookies to the user's computer
- That you will not sell information gathered to third parties without the user's consent
- Who you will share user information with
- The type of information that the user consents to you gathering by using your website
- How you ensure that information provided by a user is kept secure
- How a user can expect to by notified of changes in your privacy policy
What Should I Do If A Website Breached Its Privacy Policy?
You should first ensure that the actions of the site are actually barred by its privacy policy. You should also be sure that you did not give consent to allow the site to use your information as it did.
If the website's privacy policy has been breached and this has done you damage, you should gather evidence about its breach and especially about the damage it has done to you and then contact the website administrator/webmaster to have the matter rectified. If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact an attorney to ensure your privacy rights are protected. Do I Need An Attorney?It is important that a privacy policy contain no loopholes which may expose you to liability. If you are developing a website and intend to gather information about users, an experienced business or internet attorney will be able to create a privacy policy that ensures that you and your online enterprise are fully protected.
If a website has breached its privacy policy and has used your information without your authorization, an attorney may help you quickly resolve the matter. |
