MainWP Blog - Privacy

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...

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...

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...

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...

As we all know, privacy policies are essential for any website, but it can be tough to keep track of policy changes when managing multiple websites. To help with this, we partnered with Termageddon in 2020 to assist you in staying up to date with the latest policies. What is Termageddon? With Termageddon, creating a privacy policy is quick and easy. It automatically generates policies customized to your or your clients’ website’s specific needs, ensuring compliance with global privacy laws Continue reading the post...

Do your websites collect personal information? Today’s modern websites are built to provide a great user experience and motivate prospective customers to reach out and inquire about what you offer. This is done using contact forms, website analytics, and more. Contact forms typically require users to provide personal information such as their name, email address, and phone number. And when a website uses analytics or security tools, it may also capture a visitor’s IP address, which can be considered personally Continue reading the post...

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...

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...

Cookie consent banners are a feature of websites that inform website visitors of the cookies or trackers that may be placed on that user’s device and ask users to consent to such cookies. There are hundreds of cookie consent banner designs, ranging from asking a user to accept or deny cookies to stating, “by using this website, we assume that you are ok with cookies.” When it comes to these banners, you must follow a particular set of rules to Continue reading the post...

As we ring in 2023, we may think about goals such as making more sales, organizing the garage, and spending more time with family. One slightly less exciting but essential goal in 2023 will be compliance with the six new privacy laws going into effect this year. Regarding privacy compliance requirements, it is important to know that privacy laws protect consumers and thus are not based on where your business is located. In addition, privacy laws can impose very high Continue reading the post...