Web site privacy policy?

September 1, 2004 4:37 PM

Creating a web site privacy policy?

Can anyone point to free online resources for creating a web site privacy policy? Perhaps via some sort of online generator form? How about a web site that creates both a text version and a p3p compatible privacy policy?

posted by jca to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Just find a similiar web site, and swipe it. I've found most popular web sites in the same category have often lifted the privacy policy and the terms of use from each other. A quick google search will confirm this. The more and more I learn about business, the more and more you realize how things work. Companies that succeed do not halt their web site production just because they aren't following the letter of the law... they just go ahead and do it, take the risk, and by the time they are big enough for anyone to complain about it, they already have the resources to fight back legally, or to actually hire a professional lawyer to fix it.
posted by banished at 6:51 PM on September 1, 2004

I had a client who didn't want to waste money on one, so he essentially copied a policy from someone elses site wholesale.

I have another client who said that was a pretty stupid thing to do, and especially if you're taking anything more than the least sensitive information about people, you should do your homework and/or hire a lawyer, depending on the case.

Both seemed like reasonably savvy individuals who knew their business, though my impression is that only the latter is likely to end up on the cover of a business magazine.
posted by weston at 6:53 PM on September 1, 2004

hmm?
posted by kv at 9:41 PM on September 1, 2004

Response by poster: hmm.
posted by jca at 11:11 PM on September 1, 2004