In a continuing effort to keep you up to date with the latest technology and the issues that surround our fast paced industry, IES, Inc. a Bakersfield website design company, would like to inform you of two new laws that will have an impact on your website and possibly the way you do business. A short description of the new laws are listed below, and is intended to give you a general understanding of your responsibilities as an individual or company doing business on the web. In this article you will find some technical information about your IES, Inc. website, along with links to other helpful websites. Links and other resources appearing in this communication are meant to be helpful, but are in no way specifically endorsed by IES, Inc. Please read all resources and information carefully and apply it to your website at your own discretion.
THE LAW: AB 68 : The law requires an operator, defined as a person or entity that collects personally identifiable information from California residents through an Internet Website or online service for commercial purposes, to conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site or online service and to comply with that policy. The bill, among other things, requires that the privacy policy identify the categories of personally identifiable information that the operator collects about individual consumers who use or visit its Website or online service and 3rd parties with whom the operator may share the information. The bill preempts and supersedes laws of specified local government entities regarding the posting of a privacy policy on an Internet Website. The bill was effective on July 1, 2004.
THE LAW: SB 27: The law mandates that consumers be given lists of the kinds of information companies collect and share with third parties, as well as the names of those third parties. If this is not provided, the business must have a privacy statement giving the customer a free opportunity to opt out of information sharing. SB 27 is not specifically targeted to online businesses, but does apply to them. It went into effect Jan. 1, 2005. Source: Click Here California Debuts New Online Privacy Laws By Janis Mara January 5, 2004.
YOUR IES WEB SITE
Your IES, Inc. website will collect IP information. The IP address is used to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer your Web site. The IP address is or may be used to track activity within your site to provide statistical information of a demographic nature, and to track the browsing habits of your visitors. Similar to other commercial Web sites, your IES, Inc. web site utilizes a standard technology called "cookies," and web-server logs to keep track of session IDs, and to collect information about how your website is used. Information gathered through cookies and web-server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at your website, and the websites visited just before and just after your website. This information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is personal, nor is it associated with the end user as an individual.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
- Developing a Privacy Statement Click Here
- OECD Privacy Statement Generator Click Here
- Online Privacy Alliance Click Here
YOUR OPTIONS
To help you meet these new legal requirements, IES, Inc. will develop a privacy policy for you and post it to your website for flat fee of $50.00. Please note that if your site does not currently have a privacy policy page, you can simply make one using the Content Management feature (or backend) of your website. If you have any questions or would like IES, Inc. to write your policy for you, please contact our Technical Support, Josh Reed at 661.859.1900 X102 or e-mail: jreed@iescentral.com
