On May 25th, 2018, many companies have to become GDPR compliant if they want to continue to collect data from your visits to their site. If you’re a podcaster, and you have a website, you might want to consider not only making a Privacy Policy, but also comply it to GDPR. We’ll go through why in this article.

What is a GDPR Privacy Policy?

This is the “General Data Protection Regulation” that Europe has put into place. They are known as the toughest privacy rules out there, and many websites are adhering to them. Why? Because you could be fined up to 4 percent global revenue if they want to take you to court.

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The main crux of this is to tell people what data you might collect, and who you share it with. It also can inform them of what happens if their data is breached.

But We’re Just Podcasters..

It doesn’t matter if you’re a podcaster, YouTuber, Vlogger, or other. You really need to have a place where a policy is visible. Just like a TV and radio stations have a set of guidelines, or a restaurant has a certificate of heath in a visible place.

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Talk Shows, Contests, Call-ins

If you want your audience to interact, you need to have a policy to say what happens when they do. You don’t expect to get sued for having someone on the show, but it can happen.

Yes, it can happen…

Believe it or not, I had a PR company attempt to take down a video interview because the company didn’t want it up anymore. They tried to circumvent me, and went straight to YouTube. Although they shouldn’t have gone that way to get their way, they did. And it could’ve been a headache for me if I didn’t have my own privacy policy in place.

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But I Don’t Live in the European Union

There are 7 billion people in the world. Less than 1/14th are in the U.S. but the majority of content comes out of the 50 states. Believe me – if your podcast has been around for over 6 months, someone from the EU has consumed your show or been to your website (unless you block out of country visitors).

They may have also used your affiliate codes, or “bought you a beer”.

Besides, this is a forefront for the future. Even if the U.S. chooses not to create similar rules, search engines might start asking you to build a policy page. Just like with https, if you don’t set your intentions to other people’s data, you might find yourself digging from the bottom of the pile, hard to be found.

If You Want to Get/Stay on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts…

Keep in mind, these sites might either ask for you to provide a privacy statement or adhere to their privacy policies. If that happens, read the fine print. You don’t want to lose your audience simply because you are giving away data.

How Do I Get a Privacy Policy?

If your show is hosted on a platform (like YouTube), you may already have a blanket policy. You should read that. However, if you host your own media and own your own website, then you’ll have to put together your Privacy Policy. Here is one from Rocket Lawyer

Great part is, you’re getting a whole heap of email asking you to review their policies. This is information you can incorporate into your policy.

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What to Include in Your Policy

The idea is to tell people where their data is going. Therefore, this is what you should have in your Privacy Policy:

1. Collection of Personal Data (What you’re collecting, what you do with it)
2. Use of Your Personal Information (If you run a website, you are collecting their info, whether you know it, or not)
3. Sharing Information with Third Parties (If you run a WordPress site, you have to assure them your 3rd party plugins aren’t collecting the wrong data)
   BTW – this is one reason why you need to make sure your WordPress Plugins are current
4. Tracking Behavior
5. Collecting Data on anyone Under 13 (very important to address. Especially if your site or podcast is kid-friendly)
6. Opt Out (If they can register for your site, they should be able to un-register and say what you can do with their data)
7. Language and Disputes (If they’re translating your site information)
8. Contact Information (You want them to let you know if there’s a problem. Include email, phone, address, or other important info here)

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Add A Podcast Guest Policy

I would add a section if you have guests on your show. Talk about how they agree for their likeness to be used in your promotions. Also,  adding this line can help if they email you to try and have a video taken down:

“You can request to be removed from rotation if your video or interview puts you in a harmful or legal issue. Other requests will be handled case by case.”

Geekazine and How to Record Podcasts Policy

I have put a blanket policy down for all my websites. Feel free to copy from (give me credit for the steal) – I would suggest taking “Geekazine” out of the wording, and replace with your site.

A Privacy Policy is a great way to save you from future issues. It might not be a be-all end-all strategy, but it is online for the world to see if you run into an issue. Spending an hour on this document might

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