GNYADA December 2018 Newsletter

Data Privacy Risks

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physical files while a system failure could delete your digital data. Depending on the size of your deal- ership, you have numerous options: flash drives, external hard drives, online back-up, and cloud storage, to name just a few. 4) After your data is backed up, take steps to secure the back up files. Having two copies of everything doesn’t do any good if they are kept in the same location. 5) Review your emergency plans so that you are ready if a storm takes down your primary server. The Small Business Administration has advice for companies about prepar- ing for all kinds of emergencies and the Department of Homeland Security’s “Ready” initiative has toolkits for business in English and Spanish.

1) Inventory your data, both digital and paper – customer lists, invoices, personnel files, tax records – and consider where it is stored – on your network, in your employees’ smart- phones, on offices computers, on employees’ home computers. Knowing what you have and where you have it is the first step toward creating a preparedness plan. 2) Streamline what your dealership retains! Review the GNYADA Record Retention Chart to ensure that you are keeping everything as long as you need to . . . but not so long that it becomes a privacy risk. Also, ensure that you are disposing of confidential information properly – shredding physical copies and deleting all access to digital. 3) Back up your essential informa- tion – floods and fires can destroy

Believe it or not, your dealership’s most valuable asset may not be the cars on your lot but your customers’ data. Now is the time to review your data privacy safeguards because, not only could your customers’ data be a treasure trove for criminals, the ques- tion of who this information belongs to and who is responsible for protect- ing it is the subject of increasing reg- ulation and litigation. Here are some steps you can take to prevent your valuable data: Any marketing your dealership does on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – must comply with the FTC’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices to the same extent as other advertising formats. The NY Attorney General takes the position that it must also comply with NY’s advertising guidelines. General Requirements for Social Media Marketing Social media advertisements should make it clear to con- sumers that they are ads or spon- sored content, specifically by using two FTC-approved hash- tags: #ad and #sponsored; It cannot be unfair/deceptive; All relationships with endorsers must be disclosed; n n n

Compliant Social Media Marketing 15

seen as you making a claim about your store or product. Social media advertising is currently receiving a lot of attention from the FTC so contact your attorney if you are unsure if a post violates any fed- eral or state advertising guidelines!

If you use consumer testimonials, you must disclose any financial relationship, cannot edit the testi- monial to make it misleading, and you cannot buy fake reviews or offer refunds for positive ones; If you share or retweet a con- sumer’s post, the contents can be

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Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • December 2018