All businesses must collect customer data to be successful. However, depending on the size of your business and the type of data collected, various laws may apply to your data collection and use.
Every business should have a privacy policy that governs how it collects and uses customer data. Contact a San Antonio privacy policy lawyer at Begum Peláez-Prada, PLLC, today for help drafting your policies. Our attorneys, led by Managing Partner Sasha Begum, are seasoned professionals with years of experience guiding companies through the development, implementation, and enforcement of legally compliant privacy policies.
A comprehensive law governing the collection and use of consumer data, the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), took effect in 2024. The law imposes numerous requirements on businesses that collect customers’ identifiable data, including names and addresses, IP addresses, and device identification.
The TDPSA protects consumers by requiring companies to disclose when they “process” customer data, which the law defines as collecting, storing, using, or disclosing it. Customers must have the right to opt out of data processing and must give explicit permission before a company can process their sensitive data, which may include:
Additionally, the TDPSA states that any information concerning a known child must be treated as sensitive.
Companies that sell personally identifiable information must disclose this practice and give the customer an opportunity to opt out. Although the TDPSA imposes numerous other requirements and consumer rights, our San Antonio attorneys are conversant in all its provisions and could help your company establish a privacy policy that addresses all the relevant legal issues.
The TDPSA exempts certain businesses from its requirements. If your company is a small business under the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) definition, is independently owned and operated, not a subsidiary of a larger entity, and is not dominant in its field, the TDPSA does not apply. Depending on the type of business, it must have fewer employees than the maximum number set by the SBA or its annual revenue must be lower than an established threshold.
If your business qualifies as a small business, you are exempt from the TDPSA. Your business is also exempt if a federal data management law applies to it, such as HIPAA for healthcare providers or federal banking laws for financial institutions.
However, even if this Texas law does not apply to your company, you may still need to comply with the data protection laws of other countries if you do business internationally. Our attorneys in San Antonio could review your business to determine which privacy laws govern your operations and help you develop and implement a compliant policy.
Although some small businesses are exempt from the statutory requirement to have a privacy policy, legal risk management issues still exist. A well-drafted, comprehensive policy regarding data collection and management could help protect your company. A thoughtful policy could also help you earn and retain your customers’ trust.
Our San Antonio attorneys could review your business’s data collection practices and needs with you, advising on appropriate provisions to include in your privacy policy. We could also draft it with you.
The legal and business consequences of a data breach are substantial. A thoughtfully crafted privacy policy could minimize the risks.
Contact an experienced San Antonio privacy policy lawyer at Begum Peláez-Prada, PLLC, today for help. We proudly serve the areas of Dreamhill Estates, Los Jardines, Olmos Park, Prospect Hill, Terrell Hills, and Tobin Hill.
