{"id":5241,"date":"2017-07-23T16:07:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-23T16:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/?p=5241"},"modified":"2017-07-23T16:07:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T16:07:09","slug":"your-ignorance-of-privacy-protected-information-causes-massive-ftc-fines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/your-ignorance-of-privacy-protected-information-causes-massive-ftc-fines\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Ignorance Of Privacy-Protected Information Causes Massive FTC Fines \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your Ignorance Of\u00a0<\/strong>Privacy-Protected Information\u00a0<\/strong>Causes Massive FTC Fines<\/strong><\/h1>\n

You Don't Know What Information Is\u00a0<\/strong>Privacy-Protected & What To Do About It!\u00a0<\/strong>(Hint \u2013 Social Media And Mobile Apps\u00a0<\/strong>Are Huge Traps For the Unwary!!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Chip Cooper, Esq<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re an online entrepreneur, or maybe you even view yourself as an \u201cIM\u201d, and Internet marketer – a special breed of cat that\u2019s a subset of online entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

In either case, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a veteran or a beginner.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even matter if you work in a home office, or in a real, brick and mortar office.\u00a0 You know one important, overriding thing.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the value of your email marketing list.\u00a0 The holy grail of online marketing.<\/p>\n

With a responsive email list, you can grow your business.\u00a0 You can market additional products, services, or information you might create in the future.<\/p>\n

Or, you may market complimentary stuff of others \u2013 your JV partners.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve known from day 1 that the single greatest asset of your growing online business is your email marketing list.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you expend so much time and effort growing it.<\/p>\n

What you probably don\u2019t know is this \u2013 it\u2019s what\u00a0 I call the \u201cgreat paradox\u201d.\u00a0 The fact that your most valuable asset is also your single greatest source of legal liability.\u00a0 Massive liability that could shut your business down in a single day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This critical fact has been known by Internet attorneys like me for some time.\u00a0 But among online entrepreneurs and IM\u2019s, not very much at all.<\/p>\n

And this is a huge problem if you continue to focus solely on building your list – at the expense of caring for it and protecting yourself as you grow and use it.<\/p>\n

Tip<\/strong> \u2013 You absolutely, positively need to pay more attention to protecting your email list and yourself.\u00a0 And that begins with understanding what information is privacy-protected!<\/p>\n

How Privacy Regulation Began in the United States<\/strong><\/p>\n

Certain information is privacy-protected.\u00a0 It\u2019s protected so much by the FTC that it\u2019s almost viewed as sacred.\u00a0 And this is the basis for all legal regulations that affect your list. The best way to get a perspective on privacy-protected information is to understand how privacy regulation began in the United States.<\/p>\n

It all started back in 2004 in California, not in the U.S. Congress.\u00a0 The California Online Privacy Protection Act (OPPA) became effective on July 1, 2004. OPPA requires website operators who collect online \u201cpersonally identifiable information\u201d from California residents to post a Privacy Policy on their websites.<\/p>\n

So, at the time of the beginning of formal privacy protection in the U.S. privacy-protected information was limited to \u201cpersonally identifiable information\u201d which included:<\/p>\n