Are You at Risk of Being Sued for Website Regulations?

Question: When it comes to website compliance, are you at risk of being sued? Would you like a long or short answer? Yes, you are at risk. You always will be at risk of getting sued but the biggest takeaway from this blog post is to learn how to minimize your risk.

As a website provider, we know and understand how important it is to stay compliant with industry guidelines.

Get Your State and Federal Regulations in Check

It starts with education. You need to be aware of all the state and federal regulations you are obligated by law to follow to make the right business decisions. These regulations vary by country, state, size of your business, and revenue threshold.

While many lawsuits get thrown out in court, anyone with a lawyer can file a suit. We are seeing more litigation over privacy, especially accessibility. Therefore, we emphasize educating yourself on website compliance standards and offer services to help you not only stay compliant but provide the best website experience possible.

Digital Accessibility Compliance

Let’s talk about accessibility. Being in this business, we should all be aware of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and what they mean. WCAG is the gold standard for web accessibility. It is incredibly important that the web is accessible and has the same information available for everyone regardless of disability. VGM Forbin can work with you to help you stay compliant within your industry. While WCAG is not a federal law, as the global standard for website accessibility, it is often cited in disability lawsuits as the recognized standard to meet.

Every website we build follows WCAG guidelines and we offer monthly WCAG services to maintain digital accessibility. WCAG also covers a wide range of accessibility laws, including the Unruh Act.

Privacy Compliance for Your Website

Privacy for the web refers to protecting personal data collected on websites and allowing users to opt-out or delete the data that is collected. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a standard adopted by the European Parliament and regulates how websites collect data and notify website users of data collection. GDPR was the first policy of its kind and started to be enforced overseas in 2016.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is the strictest set of privacy laws in the United States as of 2021, and sets a standard that other states are likely to follow in the near future. It is meant to protect the consumer’s right to choose how their personal information is collected and processed. We recommend all U.S.-based businesses get familiar with this legislation, even if they are not currently required to adhere to its requirements, in preparation for the future.

The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) is a law that was enacted so people can opt out of both the sale and sharing of their personal information with third parties. This law will take full effect in 2023.

Virginia was the second state that enacted this privacy law following California, which was enacted on March 2, 2021, and will go into effect on January 1, 2023. The Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) is similar to CCPA with the absence of a revenue threshold. The requirements control the personal data of at least 100,000 consumers a year. The VCDPA also controls the personal data of at least 25,000 consumers and at least 50% of its gross revenue from the sale of personal data.

The Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) joined California and Virginia in passing a Comprehensive Data Privacy Law to protect state residents which makes Colorado the third state to enact this privacy act at this time. The Act was passed on June 7, 2021, and the Governor signed the comprehensive data privacy bill on July 7. This law will go into effect on July 1, 2023.

Get Help from VGM Forbin

As a company that has been developing websites for over 27 years, we have solutions to help you avoid litigation and provide an exceptional experience for all your customers. If you're ready to talk about website compliance, connect with our experts today.