May
28, 2004
Is Your Website Ready to Comply With the Online Privacy Law
Effective July 1, 2004?
Effective July 1, 2004, California's online privacy
statute goes into effect and will require almost every website (regardless
of its location) to post and adhere to a privacy policy. Because
of the patchwork of overlapping and incongruent international, federal,
and state laws governing online privacy and the operation of a particular
website, a privacy policy complying with the new California statute
should be drafted only be an attorney practicing
in this area of law. Please contact Sheila M. Heidmiller directly
or (480) 773-7807 for more information or a free cost estimate.
May
26, 2004
Are You At Risk for Being Investigated for Online Privacy Violations?
The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys
general have become very aggressive in investigating websites
for online privacy violations. The three most recent cases are:
- Barnes
& Noble settled with the New York State
Attorney General
for $60,000 after an investigation
revealed a website design
that left personally identifiable information vulnerable (there
were no allegations that
customer information was actually obtained
or accessed by anyone).
- Sears,
Roebuck & Co. settled a class-action suit for $60 million
plus an additional $1.575 million in attorneys’ fees
and costs
for sharing personally identifiable information
with third parties
without disclosing this to users in a
privacy policy.
- Tower
Records settled with the FTC after being
investigated as a result
of a security flaw introduced when Tower redesigned a webpage
allowing access to personally identifiable information contrary
to privacy assurances
made in Tower’s privacy policy.
Over
the past few years, dozens of companies, small and large,
in every sector of business have been investigated by the FTC,
with settlements ranging from $35,000 to $400,000. The moral
of the story? Post a privacy policy on your website drafted by
an attorney practicing in this area of law, and adhere to your
posted privacy policy. Please contact Sheila M. Heidmiller
directly or
(480) 773-7807 for more information
or a free cost estimate.
May
14, 2004
Does Your Website Create Needless Potential Liability for Your Company?
The
old adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure” sums up the need for every website to have a Website Legal
Audit – Don’t let your content byte you.™
This is a
service we developed to mitigate
needless potential liability associated with the operation of a
website. After an in-depth interview with the IT personnel, website
host, and management personnel, we perform an exhaustive review
of the content of a website, the internal and external mechanisms
of the site, and the privacy policy and terms and conditions of
use. We then prepare
a detailed written report of our findings, identifying compliance
issues and setting forth recommended solutions. Please contact Sheila
M. Heidmiller directly or (480) 773-7807
for more information or a free cost estimate.
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