It all started with a legal demand letter forwarded to me by a client. A lawyer was trolling their website and didn’t see a cookie consent banner pop up. This lawyer wasn’t based in the EU or in any US state that requires a consent banner. And yet, because they didn’t see one, a legal threat was sent, banking on our client getting rattled by a legal notice and paying to make it go away. They (wisely) forwarded it to us first, and we were able to resolve the problem it and make a plan so trolls wouldn’t knock at their virtual door again.
I thought it was done. Then I got another email from a different client. Same exact situation. And another. It was harder to shrug this off: it was becoming a trend.
Which means I need to do something I didn’t want to do: dust off the soapbox and share some thoughts about website privacy and consent laws. It’s a topic that’s paradoxically boring to talk about but also elicits clickbait headlines, warning that “your entire company is at stake.”
The truth is somewhere in the middle. So… before you click away because ‘‘website privacy laws’ sound like something reserved for attorneys and compliance officers, hang on for a couple of minutes. This isn't a legal lecture. It's a conversation about why business owners, marketing leaders, and pretty much anyone responsible for a website should start paying a little more attention to privacy settings on their sites, and what really matters when we talk about privacy and user settings.
TL;DR
If you only read one section, make it this one.
- Website privacy laws are expanding.
- More businesses are receiving legal demand letters over website tracking.
- You don't need to become an expert in privacy law.
- You DO need to understand what your website is collecting, have the right technical safeguards in place, and work with an attorney on the legal language.
- You should have someone versed in privacy laws update your website. Our team is happy to help, but make no mistake: you need to get this handled.
Now let's talk about why.
What Are the Privacy Laws that Matter?
In the world of marketing, there has been a fair amount of legislation passed on data privacy. There's the GDPR in the EU and CCPA in California. These are the most documented and rigorous of the laws to be aware of. About half of US states have also passed legislation, and there’s a lot more in the works.
So...in a nutshell, if your site is visited by someone in the EU or CA, you need to have a cookie banner saying that the site has cookies and that you will be tracked on the site, and you should offer an option to accept or decline (yes, everyone hates it).
Visitors have the right to ask a company to delete all of the information they have about them, and to avoid legal issues, everyone needs to comply.
What Actually Changed?
The laws themselves aren't the biggest change. The conversation around data privacy is one the internet has been having for several years. In fact, I’ve already written about these laws several times (and I get it if you didn’t read those articles, like I said: it’s a dry topic).
But what’s different now is that laws are starting to take effect. Legislation moves slowly, and we’re just now starting to see these proposed privacy laws become enforceable law.
That's why the conversation has changed. With new laws constantly passing for different locations, it’s not sustainable anymore to only pay attention if you’re operating in one of the relevant locations or serve one of the locations where privacy laws are active. If you’re establishing yourself as a subject matter expert for your industry, your content will be searchable globally.
Additionally, you should expect that a similar law will pass for your location in the future, if it’s not active already.
Five Things I'd Check This Week
If you're wondering where to start, I'd check these five things:
- Do you have a cookie banner?
- Has your attorney reviewed your privacy policy recently?
- Do your forms explain how submitted information will be used?
- Do you know which tools on your website are collecting visitor data?
- Do you know who to call? Your attorney should handle the legal guidance. Your website or marketing partner should handle the implementation.
If the answer to any of those is “no” or “I don’t know,” that means it’s time to take action.
Here's Where We Come In
This is the line we draw with clients: we're not attorneys, and we don't give legal advice.
Your attorney should help determine what your privacy policy says and which regulations apply to your business.
But: we can still help you with this issue. We implement the technical side of website privacy, including cookie banners, HubSpot privacy features, consent settings, and data management tools. If this is something you haven’t paid attention to, we can take care of it for you: but you need to be proactive and reach out.
This is important for our current customers as well. The way websites handle privacy has evolved quickly. If your website was built before many of today's privacy features became standard, it may be time for a few updates. We'll be reaching out with recommendations, but if you'd like us to take a look sooner, we're happy to help.
Nobody Loves Talking About Website Privacy, But it Matters
I get it. This isn't the most exciting part of your online presence. But it's becoming something leadership needs to pay attention to and fix.
The good news is that getting your website pointed in the right direction is usually much easier than dealing with a legal letter after the fact. Spend a little time on it now, work with the right people, and you'll have one less thing to worry about.
Let’s get your site where it needs to be
BizzyWeb is a Minneapolis-based digital marketing and web design agency that helps companies get the high-quality leads they need to grow and thrive. Our tactics include inbound marketing, SEO, advertising, web design, content creation and sales automation. We are an accredited HubSpot Platinum Partner and we offer full-service HubSpot onboarding, enablement and strategy for new and current users.
