Protecting user privacy is paramount in digital initiatives. Understanding regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, and Cookie policies is crucial for compliance.
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): HIPAA compliance is mandated for healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses (covered entities) that handle protected health information (PHI). Additionally, business associates of covered entities, such as software vendors and service providers, must also comply with certain HIPAA requirements. More often than not, we’re going to recommend that any PHI collected on your website is encrypted or securely transferred to a HIPAA compliant database such as an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system or Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and not stored on your website or in an email inbox.
Relevant Use Cases:
Healthcare Websites: Websites belonging to hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, and other healthcare entities that collect, store, or transmit patient information must comply with HIPAA regulations. This includes ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI, implementing appropriate security measures, and obtaining patient consent for data handling practices.
Healthcare Apps: Mobile applications designed for healthcare purposes, such as telemedicine platforms or health tracking apps, fall under HIPAA regulations if they handle PHI. These apps must implement robust security measures, secure data transmission, and provide mechanisms for user consent and data access control.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): GDPR compliance is mandatory for organizations that process personal data of individuals residing in the European Union (EU), regardless of the organization's location. This includes businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies that offer goods or services to EU residents or monitor their behavior. If you utilize a CRM or email marketing tool, there will likely be GDPR features to ensure they are working along with your website when collecting data.
Recommended WordPress plugins for GDPR compliance:
GDPR Cookie Consent: This plugin helps websites comply with GDPR cookie regulations by displaying a customizable cookie consent banner. It allows users to consent to the use of cookies on the website and provides options to manage cookie preferences.
WP GDPR Compliance: WP GDPR Compliance assists websites in meeting GDPR requirements by providing features such as consent checkboxes for various forms (e.g., contact forms, newsletter sign-up forms), data access requests handling, and data erasure requests management.
Cookie Notice for GDPR & CCP*: This plugin enables websites to display a cookie notice to visitors, informing them about the use of cookies and requesting consent. It offers customization options for the cookie notice appearance and allows for granular control over cookie settings.
GDPR Compliance for Mailchimp: For websites using Mailchimp for email marketing, this plugin helps ensure compliance with GDPR regulations regarding the collection and processing of email subscriber data. It includes features for obtaining consent, managing subscriber preferences, and handling data subject requests.
GDPR Personal Data Reports: This plugin assists website administrators in generating and exporting personal data reports for users upon request, as required by GDPR. It streamlines the process of fulfilling data subject access requests and enhances transparency regarding personal data processing activities.
WP GDPR Fix: WP GDPR Fix provides tools to make WordPress websites GDPR compliant by adding privacy features such as consent checkboxes to comment forms, registration forms, and WooCommerce checkout pages. It also offers options for handling data access requests and data deletion requests.
WP Security Audit Log: While not specifically for GDPR compliance, WP Security Audit Log helps enhance website security by keeping a detailed log of user activity, including changes made to personal data. This can assist website administrators in monitoring data access and detecting potential security breaches, which is essential for GDPR compliance.
These plugins can help WordPress website owners achieve GDPR compliance by implementing necessary features and functionalities to protect user privacy and data rights.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act):
CCPA compliance is mandatory for businesses that meet certain criteria and operate in or serve residents of California. Covered businesses must comply with CCPA requirements if they meet one or more of the following thresholds: annual gross revenues exceeding $25 million, annually buy, receive, sell, or share personal information of 50,000 or more California consumers, households, or devices; or derive 50% or more of their annual revenues from selling consumers' personal information.
Relevant Use Cases:
Online Retailers: E-commerce websites that sell products or services to California residents and meet the CCPA criteria must comply with the regulation. This includes providing consumers with the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information, disclosing data collection practices, and ensuring data security.
Data Brokers: Companies that buy, receive, or sell personal information of California consumers in large volumes, such as data brokers or advertising networks, fall under CCPA regulations. They must provide consumers with transparency and control over their personal information and refrain from selling data without explicit consent.
Cookies:
Cookie regulations vary by jurisdiction, but many countries have implemented laws requiring websites to obtain user consent before setting non-essential cookies or tracking technologies. Compliance with cookie regulations is often mandatory to ensure transparency and user privacy. There are significant changes coming to cookie laws in 2024 and we will aim to keep clients informed.
Relevant Use Case:
E-commerce Websites: Online retailers use cookies for various purposes, such as remembering user preferences, tracking shopping cart items, and analyzing user behavior to personalize the shopping experience. These websites must obtain user consent for non-essential cookies and provide options for users to manage cookie preferences.
Recommended WordPress plugins for cookie consent and management:
Cookie Notice & Compliance for GDPR / CCPA: This plugin enables website owners to display a customizable cookie consent banner to visitors, informing them about the use of cookies and requesting consent. It offers options for configuring the appearance and behavior of the cookie notice and includes features for managing cookie settings.
GDPR Cookie Consent Banner: With this plugin, website owners can easily create and customize GDPR-compliant cookie consent banners to inform visitors about cookie usage and obtain their consent. It provides options for configuring cookie settings, including categorization and granular control over cookie preferences.
Cookie Consent: Cookie Consent is a lightweight plugin that helps websites comply with cookie regulations by displaying a simple and customizable cookie consent notice. It allows users to accept or reject cookies and provides options for managing cookie preferences.
Cookie Law Info: This plugin assists websites in meeting cookie compliance requirements by displaying a customizable cookie consent banner. It offers features for categorizing cookies, providing detailed cookie information to users, and managing cookie consent preferences.
GDPR Cookie Consent (CCPA Ready): This plugin helps website owners comply with GDPR and CCPA regulations by presenting a cookie consent banner to visitors. It offers customization options for the cookie notice appearance and includes features for managing cookie settings and user consent preferences.
EU Cookie Law (GDPR) Compliance Banner & Notice: This plugin simplifies GDPR compliance by allowing website owners to create and customize cookie consent banners to inform visitors about cookie usage. It provides options for configuring cookie settings and obtaining user consent.
Cookiebot | GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Consent and Control: Cookiebot is a comprehensive cookie consent solution that automatically scans and categorizes cookies on websites, ensuring compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other cookie regulations. It offers customizable cookie consent banners, detailed cookie policies, and robust cookie management features.
These plugins provide WordPress website owners with tools to implement cookie consent notices, manage cookie settings, and achieve compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other cookie-related regulations.
As the website designer and developer, GLIDE will provide a Toolkit page to encourage clients to publicly publish privacy measures, including but not limited to:
Privacy Policy: Facilitating the creation of a Privacy Policy page outlining data collection, usage, and protection practices.
Terms of Service: If applicable, advising on the creation of Terms of Service agreements to govern user interactions.
If you do not already have this documentation, we recommend utilizing policy generators like termly.io for policy creation and consulting legal counsel for customized solutions. Sprinto also offers certification services for HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, and other privacy frameworks.