Précis – Research rating the website privacy policies of 100 top UK online retailers has found significant room for improvement on aspects of customer friendliness and online legal compliance.
What?
The report is compiled by market intelligence company Ctrl-Shift based on analysis of 100 leading UK online retailers’ website privacy policies against 10 key compliance criteria.
So What?
With the Information Commissioner now actively enforcing the new rules on use of website cookies, now is an especially good time to review website privacy policies and practices to avoid falling foul.
The report, which can be viewed here: http://www.ctrl-shift.co.uk/shop/product/60, focuses on the following areas:
- how clear and easy to understand the privacy information provided to customers is;
- how easily customers can set and alter privacy preferences;
- how customers are informed about their choices regarding use of their data for marketing purposes; and
- information given about the website’s use of online behavioural advertising; and treatment of website cookies.
Although most of the websites’ privacy policies scored well on use of clear English, many fell short in areas such as making clear the customer’s privacy rights, providing adequate choices about receiving electronic marketing materials, having clear processes to notify customers about changes to the privacy policy, and informing customers about how long their data will be held for.
The report highlights the need to ensure legally compliant online privacy practices and to keep website privacy policies accurate and up-to-date. This applies both at the outset of launching a new website as well as over time as the functions of the website, and the types and uses of customer data acquired through it, may evolve.
Failure to adhere to the legal requirements around online privacy will risk breaching the applicable legislation in this area. In the UK, this is primarily the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Breaches of such legislation could result in investigation and potential enforcement action, including substantial fines in the most serious cases, by the Information Commissioner as well as other negative impacts such as bad publicity. In addition, website owners should be mindful of the need to write consumer facing contract terms/legal notices (including privacy policies) in plain and intelligible, non-legalistic language.
With the Information Commissioner now actively enforcing the new rules on use of website cookies, now is an especially good time to review website privacy policies and practices to avoid falling foul.
