Selling with Trust The Privacy Policy Requirements of Course Creators
Make yourself ready. The next step is to discover about the reasons why websites that are based on courses may be required to have Privacy policies.
Okay, maybe not the most interesting topic, but it's important.
Privacy is becoming a bigger and more important issue. Consumers are expecting website owners to respect their privacy, and non-compliance penalties can cost a lot simply for failing to disclose the privacy policies of your website.
If your website for your college collects data that is regulated You are required to disclose specific information so that the users understand what you're doing with their data.
This post (and the webinar) is designed to give course creators the basics for the policies for websites and when they're required to be used on specific websites of course creators and how to ensure that you have the right policies put in place (and ensure they are current over time).
Before proceeding further we need to be aware that this piece and webinar does not constitute legal advice and is meant for informative purposes only. It is recommended to speak with an attorney who is in your local area to help you meet your legal compliance requirements.
What are the data that is subject to regulation?
Things like names, email addresses, and IP addresses are subject to regulation under a multitude of privacy laws around the world. If you are collecting this controlled data, you could require a Privacy Policy regardless of where you're situated.
It's already a major lesson: governments that make privacy laws don't care about the location of your company. They care about protecting the privacy of their citizens. Therefore, if you're collecting information from multiple sources it could be necessary to adhere to various privacy laws, and provide the necessary disclosures in each of them (yes each privacy law is different).
Do you think that collecting data that is regulated is bad?
Not at all! All you need to do is make certain disclosures regarding the matter.
Gathering information such as email addresses, names, as well as IP addresses, helps ensure that your customers have a great experience when they visit your site. It also helps you improve your site in the future.
The only thing that's been changed is the fact that you need to be mindful of the privacy practices you use and make sure you've got the respective policies on your website that contain the proper disclosures you specifically are obliged to provide according to the law(s) applicable to your site.
Does your website course collect regulated data?
The majority of modern websites gather controlled information. It's almost mandatory to make sure that spammers don't try to alter your contact form and it would be impossible to process payments in any other way. Thus, the collection of data is typical for web sites, and it is likely to be much greater than you thought.
Common characteristics for course platforms that collect the following data that is regulated:
- Membership and course registrations
- Accepting payments
- Videos embedded by 3rd party companies
- Engagement initiates
- Rewarding your Learners
- Email drips
- Discussion forums
- Integrity
- Quizzes
Common integrations in which course creators share data with third parties:
- Embedding 3rd party videos for lessons (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Integrations of payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)
- Automated renewal notification (Mailgun, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp and others.)
- Email newsletter subscription forms (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, etc.)
- Data transfer providers (Zapier, etc.)
Why should I be concerned?
Simply put, you should be able to establish policies for your website in order to generate more sales and avoid non-compliance penalties or lawsuits. Also, by using website policies, you build trust with customers and assist in complying to the laws.
Privacy won't be going away (if ever it's getting more important) and the failure to have an adequate and compliant Privacy policy is the reason that gets webmasters in problems when it comes to privacy law (where penalties start at $2,500 per website visitor who's rights have been violated by you).
Consider joining us for our webinar where we'll teach you about the basic principles of website guidelines, the best way to get proper ones, and the best way to keep them up to date over time!