How to write Privacy page?

I need to write a privacy page for one of my sites. I know they vary alot depending on the services offered. Does anyone have any tips or a list of generic things to include?

 

read some privacy policies on other people's website and pull out the stuff you like. Then change the wording so that it works for your site. Then hand it over to your lawyer to make sure it is all good. Then your done.

and...um...Hi to the hot chick sellin' lingerie.

 

I have a tutorial at my site for this. Depending on what kind of site etc. there may be certain elements that are neccessary. Your best to have an attorney draw one up for you.

 

The FTC takes these things pretty seriously, so for some people having a legal review may be a good idea.

 

I agree, it's definately not rocket science. A generic site only needs a generic policy but, since the original post was unclear as to what type of website it was I say there are certain laws that are in effect. COPPA law and section 2257 of the expliotation law are 2 off the top of my head.
Now, there is debate as to wether these laws are enforcable Internationally and I have done very little case study but compare the cost of hirng a lawyer to the cost of being sued by the government.

 

I have already read that and the COPPA sites. My point remains it is a legal document and might merit review depending on the type of site. In general you are better off not having a policy if you don't need one. Saying it is not 'rocket science' was a flippant remark that is not warrented for all types of sites and situations and I think people should realize they can cause legal issues. For any corporation with a legal department you can bet they review it, and not just because they find it fine reading for naptime.

 

You should hire a stripper.

 

i wonder if there's a naughty website that has pictures of that......

ok someone PM me a link plzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Hahaha, I agree with that too! It's a pretty standard disclaimer but you have to agree it IS the best advice, no?

BTW, I wasn't being counter productive, I DID offer a tutorial. And I've also written an article some time age about it, but I didn't want to spam the post with my own links. It's in my sig anyway.

 

That is right, you have made no legal commitements past the general statutes if you don't have one. There is no contridiction here, and if you don't understand then you really need to go read more on it, especially before advising others.

Sure, about as bad as the general advice to not hire a lawyer. Up to them to judge if they need one. FYI, I don't use one either for this, but I would not go so far as to say that using one ever is foolish. Many of my clients do get them reviewed and I respect their reasons and caution.

 

what's great - copy someone elses.

"We will respect the copyright of others. Copyright infringement is a crime, and will be delt with accordingly"

I can see that happening.

 

well luckly the FTC policy is not copyrighted, so the advice to borrow from that was good.

Also a privacy policy would not mentioned copyright issues really, that would go in a TOS or AUP.

 

1) Some ad networks won't take you on unless you have a privacy policy. Generally speaking, not only as a legal matter but as a matter of visitor expectations, you ought to have a privacy policy. Otherwise, people might wonder if the lack of one is because you are doing weird stuff you don't want to reveal.

2) If you have a mailing list and think you might ever want to sell your site, your privacy policy should disclose that the names could get transferred if the assets of the site get transferred.

3) Google has specific language that they recommend you insert if you use their analytics service.

4) Truste.org has a model policy. I am sure other folks have model policies that you can use as a starting point without violating copyright.

5) Copyright aside, you can't just blindly grab someone else's privacy policy without potentially creating problems. For example, the FTC policy has some language about how certain information is encrypted. If you lifted that policy, and represented that you were protecting people by encrypting information when you were not, you would be making a misrepresentation, which could be a problem. You need to understand what you post well enough to be sure that you say what you mean and mean what you say.

6) If you use a lawyer, find one that has written a couple of privacy policies before. They don't teach website privacy policies in law school, and you want a lawyer who actually knows the issues. If anyone reading this is an inhouse corporate counsel looking for someone good, and can pay the going rate, I know a Yale Law grad in Atlanta who has expertise in the field and who is an outstanding lawyer.

Once again, this is not intended to be legal advice for anyone reading it. I am not your lawyer, and we do not have a lawyer / client relationship. To get legal advice, you need to retain your own lawyer and make sure they understand the particular facts of your situation.

 

Wow, thanks for all the advice. I think I'll just write one based upon the information given in the posts, and the web links. I can see people finding my site controversial, but I don't know any lawyers and I don't think there's any '$50 Paypal lawyer to write privacy legal stuff' services floating around.

I might hire a quality law firm, http://www.winnsims.com/ to write it for me.
(just kidding, if you're thinking wtf, then check here: http://www.winn-and-sims.com/)

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Hehe, I guess you didn't hire a lawyer either?