Privacy Policy

You may be aware that if you’re collecting some form of personal data from your customers, clients, or end users, then you’re required by law to post a Privacy Policy on your site.

But why are you required to do so, and which specific laws require this?

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at why Privacy Policies are required by law. We will look at various privacy laws within the US and around the world.

We’ll also look at the agreements of some popular online services you may be using that require you to post a Privacy Policy as part of their Terms of Use.

Before we do that, let’s quickly review what Privacy Policies are and why you need them

What Are Privacy Policies?

If you’re collecting any kind of personal information from your users through your site or mobile app, you need a Privacy Policy. A Privacy Policy is an agreement that covers the ways a business collects, handles and uses (or intends on using) their users’ personal information.

Privacy Policies are required by law because in collecting personal information from your visitors, users, customers, and clients, you assume responsibility for protecting their privacy.

But what kind of information is protected by law and what are your legal obligations?

Personally identifiable information is data that can identify a person, such as a government ID number, email address, phone number or billing details.

For this reason, a number of countries around the world have privacy laws that require you to have a Privacy Policy agreement if you collect personal information from their citizens.

Additionally, some third-party services – like Google Analytics – also require you to have a Privacy Policy because they collect personal information through your website when you use their services.

At minimum, your Privacy Policy agreement should include clauses that detail what personal or sensitive information you collect, how you collect it, how you intend to use that information, and whether you will disclose some or all of that information to any third parties.

Now that you have a solid overview of what a Privacy Policy is, the types of information it deals with, and why it’s required by law, let’s take a look at some different privacy laws from around the world that require you to have a Privacy Policy agreement.