If you’ve been following digital marketing news recently, you’ve probably noticed an increase in conversations surrounding website privacy, tracking technologies, and cookie consent. These topics have moved well beyond IT departments and marketing teams, and they’re now becoming regular discussions between businesses and their legal counsel.
Before we go any further, I want to make one thing very clear. Moxie is not an attorney, and we are not providing legal advice. Every business has different legal obligations depending on its industry, customers, and how its website operates. We strongly encourage every business owner to speak with their own attorney to determine whether their website, policies, and tracking practices meet the legal requirements that apply to them.
At Moxie, we’ve seen website compliance topics evolve over the years. First it was accessibility. Then image licensing. Today, much of the conversation has shifted to website tracking, privacy policies, and cookie consent. While we don’t provide legal advice, we do think it’s important for every business owner to recognize when these conversations are happening and work with their attorney to make sure their website reflects current best practices.
Website Compliance Is Always Evolving
Website compliance is not something businesses review once and never think about again. As technology changes, customer expectations evolve, and new legal issues emerge, websites often need to be revisited. A few years ago, accessibility became a major focus as businesses worked to make their websites more usable for everyone while reducing potential legal risk. Around the same time, many companies found themselves reviewing image licensing to ensure photos and graphics used throughout their websites were properly licensed.
Today, much of the attention has shifted toward website tracking, privacy, and cookie consent. Businesses across a variety of industries have received demand letters and lawsuits related to how visitor information is collected and how tracking technologies are disclosed. Whether any of these issues apply to your business is a legal question that should be discussed with your attorney, but the increased attention is a reminder that websites should be reviewed periodically rather than left untouched for years.
Now Is a Good Time to Review Your Website
Because of the increased attention surrounding website privacy and tracking, many businesses are taking the opportunity to review the policies and systems currently in place on their websites. Even if no changes are ultimately required, having your attorney review everything can provide peace of mind.
This review may include your Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Cookie Policy, website tracking technologies, and any consent management tools currently being used. It is also a good opportunity to evaluate whether all of the tracking codes installed on your website are still necessary or whether outdated scripts can be removed.
Many businesses are also discussing cookie consent platforms, such as CookieYes, with their attorneys to determine whether implementing a consent banner makes sense for their specific situation. Just as importantly, this review helps ensure your website documentation accurately reflects how your website operates today rather than how it operated several years ago.
Review More Than Just the Policies
A website review should go beyond the legal documents themselves. This is also a good opportunity to inventory the tools and technologies running behind the scenes. Many websites accumulate tracking codes, marketing pixels, chat widgets, analytics platforms, and third party integrations over time. Some of those tools may no longer be used, while others may have been added without anyone revisiting how they fit into the website’s overall privacy practices.
Working with your attorney and your website or marketing team together can help ensure your legal documentation and website configuration accurately reflect one another.
The Bottom Line
Website privacy, tracking, and consent management have become important conversations for businesses of every size. While the specific legal requirements vary from company to company, now is a good time to review your website and make sure everything is up to date. Start by having a conversation with your business attorney about your Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Cookie Policy, website tracking, and consent practices.
