MainWP Blog - Donata Stroink-Skillrud
Donata Stroink-Skillrud is an attorney licensed in Illinois and a Certified Information Privacy Professional. She is also the legal engineer behind Termageddon, a SaaS that has generated thousands of Privacy Policies and successfully kept them up to date with changing legislation. Donata is also the Chair of the American Bar Association's ePrivacy Committee and Vice-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Cybersecurity and Privacy Committee. Donata is also the past Chair of the Chicago Chapter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals along with being Privacy Liaison for MainWP.
What Will 2024 Bring? Privacy Predictions
Prediction: Multiple states will propose and pass their own privacy laws As we have seen in previous years, states are not willing to wait on the federal government to provide privacy protections to their residents and are therefore proposing and passing their own privacy laws. Currently, there are over 30 proposed privacy bills in the United States and it is very likely that quite a few of them will be passed over the next year. In addition, it is very Continue reading the post...
A guide to the Belgium’s Data Protection Authority cookie guidance
The uncomfortable truth is that most people (including website owners and website visitors) do not actually like cookie consent banners. However, cookie consent banners exist to comply with privacy laws that require user consent prior to that user being tracked online. Since so many websites do not properly obtain consent for cookies, Belgium’s Data Protection Authority has released comprehensive cookie guidance to ensure that businesses comply with the law. In this blog post, we will review the guidance and provide Continue reading the post...
What you need to know about the California Delete Act
What you need to know about the California Delete Act If you, like so many of us, are inundated with constant spam calls and emails from companies you have never heard of before, you may be curious as to how you can stop these emails and calls. You may also be wondering where these companies even obtained your information from. The truth is that the personal information of millions of Americans is bought and sold every day by data brokers. Continue reading the post...
Regulatory Crackdown: $650,000 Fine Imposed on Marketing Email Violation
With so many businesses sending marketing emails to their customers, it is easy to forget that such practices are governed by a multitude of privacy laws and that failure to follow the requirements of such privacy laws may lead to hefty fines. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently announced that it will fine Experian Consumer Services $650,000 as part of a settlement. The settlement arises from the allegation that Experian sent customers unsolicited emails without an option Continue reading the post...
What You Need to Know About the Instagram BIPA Settlement
If you are a resident of Illinois and use Instagram, you may have received an email titled “Notice of Class Action and Proposed Settlement.” The email states that if you used Instagram in Illinois between August 10, 2015, and August 16, 2023, you may be entitled to a payment from a settlement over alleged violations of BIPA. In this article, we will discuss what BIPA is, how Instagram allegedly violated the privacy rights of residents of Illinois, and what this Continue reading the post...
How the Nist Privacy Framework Can Help You Comply With Privacy Laws
Published on July 3, 2023 by Donata Stroink-Skillrud under Privacy, Tips & Tricks, WordPress Business
Since more than a dozen privacy laws can apply to a business website, many business owners have been looking for ways to standardize their Privacy Programs. Standardizing your Privacy Program can help you quickly identify the privacy laws that apply to you, evaluate their requirements, determine the steps you need to take, and, crucially, avoid duplicate work. In addition, a standardized Privacy Program can help you integrate new technologies and evaluate and mitigate risks. So how do you standardize a Continue reading the post...
Lessons Learned from Google’s $39.9 Million Location Tracking Settlement
Published on June 1, 2023 by Donata Stroink-Skillrud under Privacy, Tips & Tricks, WordPress Business
In May 2023, Google agreed to pay a whopping $39.9 million to settle a lawsuit with the State of Washington over deceptive location tracking practices. The settlement also requires Google to increase transparency over its location tracking practices. The lawsuit and settlement stemmed from the allegation that Google deceived customers that they had control over whether their location would be tracked when, in reality, tracking would take place regardless of user choice. In this article, we will discuss how this Continue reading the post...
Stay Safe and Secure: Cybersecurity Measures for Small Businesses
Published on May 1, 2023 by Donata Stroink-Skillrud under Privacy, Tips & Tricks, WordPress Business
As a small business, you may be under the impression that you are at low risk for data breaches, cybersecurity incidents, and privacy complaints. However, the truth is that small businesses often collect a fair amount of personal data such as names, emails, phone numbers, IP addresses, and even payment details from their customers. You should know that 46% of all cyber breaches impact businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees and that employees of small businesses experience 350% more social Continue reading the post...
Bans Proposed on TikTok Due to Privacy Concerns
With over 1 billion active users in 154 countries, TikTok has taken the Internet by storm, catching users’ attention with short videos of anything from dances to popular cleaning hacks. However, the popular social media platform has come under increased scrutiny and regulations for its privacy and security practices, with allegations ranging from exploiting children to sharing data with the Chinese government. While the platform has been banned from government-issued devices in certain countries, there are also calls to ban Continue reading the post...
An Overview of Australia’s Updated Privacy Act and Its Impact on Data Protection
With the constantly evolving nature of technology and its impacts on privacy, it should come as no surprise that privacy laws have to evolve as well constantly. For example, this year, six new privacy laws are going into effect – the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), Colorado Privacy Act, Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA), Connecticut SB6, and Quebec Bill 64. With over a dozen proposed privacy bills in the United States and potential updates Continue reading the post...
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