Hardly any company can afford to go without an online presence these days. A website or online presence is more than just a company’s calling card; it also offers effective marketing opportunities. Whether a startup or a large corporation, numerous factors must be considered when designing websites to ensure legal and data protection compliance. A lot has changed in this regard in recent years, and it’s important to familiarize yourself with the details.
Legal tightening in recent years compliant websites
First and foremost, website operators must ensure they comply with all legally required information obligations. This primarily includes a legally rich people database compliant imprint and privacy policy. Furthermore, the tightening of the GDPR has also changed the disclosure requirements regarding cookies used. Failure to comply with legal regulations can result in warnings and heavy fines. So, what do website operators need to consider when it comes to operating a website in compliance with data protection and legal requirements?
General compliant websites
Both the imprint and privacy policy should be accessible from all pages and subpages with just a few clicks. Furthermore, to be on the safe side, no copyrights or other intellectual property rights must be violated. Warnings can be issued if, for example, royalty-free stock images are used on the site but the image source is not provided correctly or not at all.
imprint
The imprint should enable website users to identify who operates the website and how to contact the responsible website operator. It also helps how to build effective customer relationships consumers draw conclusions about the website’s reliability. Both the Telemedia Act and the Interstate Broadcasting Agreement stipulate an imprint requirement. Depending on whether the website is private or commercial, different requirements must be met. The minimum components of an imprint include the following information:
- Name and deliverable address of the company / site operator
- for legal entities, the legal form and authorized representatives
- Email contact and telephone number
- if applicable, information on the responsible supervisory authority, commercial register, cooperative register, etc.
- if applicable, VAT identification number
- Reference to the possibility of European online dispute resolution
The GDPR
The European General Data Protection Regulation has been in force since 2016 and has been mandatory for all commercial website twd directory operators since May 2018 at the latest. The regulation was enacted to standardize the collection, processing, and handling of personal data across the EU, thereby strengthening consumer rights and online security . Since its introduction, however, there have been regular objections and criticisms of the regulations, leading to numerous revisions to the regulation. Significant changes include expanded documentation requirements and strengthened data subject rights.