Today, consumers are more concerned than ever about their privacy, personal information, and how it is being used by companies. As a startup, drafting a privacy policy for your business allows consumers to learn how the data collected by your company will be handled, stored, and used. How you draft your privacy policy can have significant legal, financial, and business implications for your startup, so it is critical that an experienced attorney review your policy before publishing it for consumers.
Do you know why a privacy policy is important for your startup business? Read more to learn about what you should know when drafting a privacy policy for your company.
What is a Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy is a legal agreement that specifies what information your business collects from its consumers, how the information is used, and how your startup keeps it safe. Depending on your business, California or federal law like the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act may even require that you have a privacy policy if you collect any data that may be used to identify a customer. This includes information like name, date of birth, residential address, email address, phone number, banking information, credit card information, social security number, and more.
Typically, a privacy policy will cover a number of topics regarding data collected by consumers. This includes specifics on the type of data collected, the purpose for the data collection, data storage, security, and access, details on data transfers, affiliated startups or other organizations, and whether your company uses cookies or other tracking software.
Why Do I Need a Privacy Policy?
Drafting a privacy policy for your startup is important for the long-term growth and success of your business. Not only does creating a privacy policy ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, it also forces your business to check that you are meeting the legal requirements of data protection for your customers’ personal information. A privacy policy also creates a level of trust with the people who use your startup’s products and services. Finally, a privacy policy can protect you from lawsuits and claims that you are misusing or not protecting the data collected from your customers.
What Issues Should a Privacy Policy Address?
When writing a privacy policy for your startup, there are a few questions to keep in mind that you should address in the document. First, what information do you collect? Second, how do you collect it? Third, how do you use it? Fourth, what control do consumers have over their personal data that you collect? Fifth, how do you protect that personal information? Covering these questions in your privacy policy will provide you with basic protection from claims made by consumers about your startup’s data collection, and an experienced attorney can review your policy to ensure that no other aspects of data collection or privacy concerns need to be included in your disclosure.
Talk to Our Office
To learn more about drafting a privacy policy for your startup in the Los Angeles area, call or contact the Counsel for Creators today to schedule a consultation of your startup’s legal needs.
