Your Privacy Policy Should Probably Be Updated Too

If you're anything like me, you've been getting a ton of emails about...

Privacy Policy Updates.

B O R I N G... right? 

But there's a reason so many companies have been sending out these notices.

Data protection laws under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) are going into effect on May 25, 2018. So any business collecting data from EU residents should be going through this process. 

That means anything from collecting an email address to tracking their visits on your website.

We've been undergoing the update process ourselves. You can find our privacy policy here .

We also added the following notification to all first-time site visitors:

Now, I bet you're asking yourself...

Does It Apply To My Business?

Yes, if you have subscribers, leads, and customers who are based in the EU, even if you’re not based in the EU.

These are the rights your EU subscribers have:

1. Right To Access

Your subscribers can ask you how you are using their data and for what purposes. If they request, you’ll need to provide a personal data report at no cost to them.

2. Right To Be Forgotten

Your subscribers can ask you to delete all their personal data if they choose to do so.

3. Data Portability

Your subscribers can request you to provide them with their personal data that you hold, in a “commonly use and machine readable format”.

4. Breach Notification

Upon a data breach, you have 72 hours of first becoming aware of the breach to notify your audience and customers.

If you're not yet up on all of the GDPR requirement, or want some help making sure you're staying compliant, here are a couple of resources I suggest investing in:

GDPR Tracker - This is currently available on AppSumo for a lifetime deal. If you have someone on your team who can implement all the required changes, this is a great resource to track the process and make sure all details are covered.

FTC Guardian - This is a membership site run by Attorney Chip Cooper, who is an expert on business' use of the internet. I'm a "Pro" level member, and find the resources (like fill-in-the-blank legal documents and monthly webinars on critical compliance topics like GDPR) to be vital to staying on the right side of the law.

Getting GDPR compliant (even if your interaction with EU residents is minimal) will put you ahead of the curve when similar laws go into effect here in the US or wherever you may currently reside.

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David Baer is a Digital Marketing Consultant helping consultants, advisors, and service professionals become more profitable online.

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