What Is Website Privacy and Data Protection?
It’s no secret that people’s personal information is a hot commodity. For that reason, it is essential to communicate to your website visitors how you intend to use and protect their data.
Online Privacy
How much personal information protection a user has while using internet-connected devices
Displaying your process for privacy is usually shown on a privacy policy page. This page typically states how your company collects, handles, and processes the data of the website visitors and consumers.
Even if your website doesn’t serve customers in the regions where privacy and data protection laws exist, it’s critical to have a privacy and data protection strategy for your website, as more states and countries will likely implement their own data protection laws.
Examples of how to improve data protection:
- Include a privacy policy
- Follow your privacy practices
- Include a cookie consent prompt
- Include a consent checkbox on contact forms
EU General Data Protection Act (GDPR)
What is GDPR, and how does it apply to my website?
Enacted in May of 2018, GDPR is a European law designed to protect the personal data of its citizens. Why would this matter to American-based websites? Because you’ll likely receive visits from people that reside in a European country. It is the World Wide Web, after all.
Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable data subject. – Source: w3edge
The GDPR prohibits processing defined special categories of personal data unless a lawful justification for processing applies.
The following personal data is considered ‘sensitive’ and is subject to specific processing conditions:
- personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs;
- trade-union membership;
- genetic data, biometric data processed solely to identify a human being;
- health-related data;
- data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
Source: European Commission
It is the responsibility of the website owner to provide specific information on personal data collection and processing.
The Age of Data Protection
Data protection and privacy are becoming a hot topic globally, especially regarding web development. Consumer interest in data protection and privacy will only continue to grow in the coming years. The European Union General Data Protection Act (GDPR) has been in place since 2018. Most recently, California, Virginia, and Washington have started implementing their own data privacy laws.