Your Website is Crucial to Your Business – Have You Thought About How it Could Hurt You?

Seems like everyday now, we hear about another big retailer declaring bankruptcy or closing down a large percentage of their brick and mortar locations, transferring that capital to the online strategy. Some are calling it the retail apocalypse…Radio Shack, Payless Shoes, Kmart, Michael Kors. JC Penney…and so many more – in 2017 alone, more than 6000 stores have been closed.

Any organization that processes personal information about EU citizens must have systems in place to comply GDPR laws, and prove their compliance with documentation. Even now, many companies are not in full compliance, and this is a major risk as non-compliance can cost organizations up to 20M Euro in fines or 4% of the total annual turnover of the preceding financial year.

Ever since video killed the radio star, it has dominated digital media as the most interactive type of content, capturing the attention of audiences in branding, marketing and PR. The following stats reflect just how much video content is growing in our everyday lives:

Running an organization comes with many exciting and challenging phases. While there are many processes to put in place as new levels of growth are reached, learning how to keep records of your online properties is crucial early on in the game. As experts in website and social media archiving, we thought we’d share 5 essential record-keeping tips, easily applicable to any industry.

Complying with your industry's record keeping regulations may seem like a given; yet stories of non-compliance continue to circulate in the news. Unaware of the significant harms of failing to meet regulations, many organizations are overlooking compliance as a major priority. Let's take a look at a few reasons why compliance should always sit at the top of your organization's priority list, and the costs you can avoid by doing so.

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC (MiFID) came into play in 2007. Established by to regulate investment services, increase competition and enhance consumer protection, MiFID applies to all member states of the European Economic Area including banks, brokers, financial service institutions and advisers and more. On 20 October 2011, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal for the revision of MiFID which took the form of a revised Directive and a new Regulation The European Parliament and Council reached an agreement to develop MiFR, and MiFID II to further make markets more transparent and better protecting of investors.

Websites are home to a wealth of information. With more and more information existing online, organizations are actively using their websites as their primary marketing, sales and relationship-building channel. Despite the ease of using websites, recordkeeping precautions must be taken. Recordkeeping regulations in every industry require organizations to make conscious efforts to collect histories of their website content. Regulations aside, collecting website archives is also handy in litigation cases, as website content becomes subject to investigations and eDiscovery.

Social Media as Federal Records Social media is heavily relied on by citizens and businesses for a wealth of information - from service updates, to employment information and changes in the law. It also benefits governments by helping them improve their service through a direct communication channel, making it possible to converse and discuss policies. With this heavy usage and two-way benefit, social media communications are considered official government publications to which the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies - a law that ensues government transparency and fair public access to records of interest.

For legal and recordkeeping compliance, understanding and capturing metadata of your organization's online presence is essential.

What’s the deal? In recent news, the SEC has made amendments to reporting requirements for investment advisors, changing the way in which the SEC evaluates the risk profiles of investment advisors, and helping to reduce the likelihood of fraudulent activity. The amendments concern what’s known as “Form ADV”, a form required for investment advisors to register with the SEC. A large part of the form asks investment advisors for details on their business, including their clients’ history, employees, business practices etc.