Selling with Trust: Privacy Policy Requirements for 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.
Ok, it's not the most interesting issue, but it's important.
Privacy is getting a bigger and bigger deal. The public is demanding website owners to respect their privacy, and non-compliance penalties can cost a lot just for not disclosing your own privacy practices.
If your course website has been collecting data under regulation, you have an obligation to disclose specific information so that the users understand the purpose of your information.
This post (and webinar) is designed to give instructors with the fundamentals on what website policies are that are mandatory to be used on specific websites of course creators and the best way to get proper policies in place (and make sure they stay current over time).
Before proceeding further, it's important for us to note that this article and webinar is not legal advice and is for solely informational use. You should speak to an attorney in your area for assistance with your requirements for compliance.
What is regulated data?
Items like names, email addresses and IP addresses are being regulated under numerous privacy laws throughout the world. If you're collecting these sensitive data, then you might require privacy Policy, regardless of where your located.
The big conclusion: the governments who create privacy laws do not care which part of the country your company is. They're concerned with protecting the privacy of their citizens. So if you're collecting regulated information from multiple sources it could be necessary to comply with various privacy laws, and provide the disclosures required under each of them (yes each privacy law is unique).
Is collecting regulated data bad?
Not at all! It's just a matter of making some disclosures about the matter.
Gathering information such as email addresses, names, as well as IP addresses, helps ensure that your customers have a great experience on your website. Additionally, it helps you improve your site in the future.
What has actually changed is that you should be conscious of the practices that you employ to protect your privacy and make sure you've got the respective policies on your website with the correct disclosures you specifically are obliged to provide under the law(s) applicable to you.
Does your website course collect regulated data?
Virtually all modern websites collect restricted data. It's almost mandatory to ensure spammers aren't trying to take advantage of your contact forms and is impossible to process payments in any other way. Therefore, collecting information is a normal practice for websites, and it may be a lot greater than you thought.
Common characteristics for course platforms that collect regulated data:
- Course and membership registrations
- Accepting payments
- Video embedded from 3rd party sites
- Engagement is what triggers
- Rewarding your Learners
- Email drips
- Discussion forums
- Integrity
- Quizzes
Common integrations where course creators can share their data with third-party partners:
- Embedding 3rd party videos for lessons (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Integrations with payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)
- Automatic renewal notifications (Mailgun, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp for example.)
- Email newsletter subscription forms (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, etc.)
- Data transfer providers (Zapier, etc.)
Why should I be concerned?
It is essential to have website policies to make more sales , and to avoid penalties or lawsuits. By using website policies create trust with customers and assist in complying to the laws.
Privacy isn't going anywhere (if ever it's getting more vital) and failure to provide an adequate and compliant Privacy Policy can get the owners of websites into difficulties when it comes down to privacy legislation (where fines start at $2,500 per website visitor that you've violated their rights).
You should consider joining our webinar where we'll teach you the fundamentals of web guidelines, the best way to get appropriate ones and how to easily ensure they are up-to-date as time passes!