Surviving The Podcast Privacy Wars

As of January 1, 2020, you and I can no longer ignore the privacy implications of our podcasting efforts. But you also don’t need to get a law degree. You also don’t need to take up arms. You just need to be smart.

January 7, 2020

Article

Privacy is in the news in a big way as we begin 2020. Though the current focus certainly isn’t new. Remember Cambridge Analytica? Big companies with big data who are manipulating our tiny little brains into doing things that aren't necessarily in our best interest.

There's also the issue of potential governmental oversight. Will jackbooted thugs come cracking down your door when they discover that you spend some time on a forum with questionable content?

Or it may be as simple as questioning whether or not you want big companies tracking what you buy or are interested in so they can serve you ads that are kind of creepy and weird. Have you noticed that sometimes you see ads for things you just talked about a few minutes ago? Does that mean our smart devices are listening to us?

Privacy is in the news and with CCPA, the California Consumer Protection Privacy Act and GDPR, which is the European regulation that stands for... Well, I used to know, I don't remember any longer. Now that both of these regulations are the law of land (because Europe's pretty big and you probably do some business in California), privacy has become an issue. As working podcasters, as I said at the beginning of the program, we can no longer ignore privacy issues.

You're going to have to do bit of educating yourself. This episode is not here to educate you all about the vagaries of the GDPR or the CCPA. I'm not here to tell you exactly what you should do to make sure you're 100% compliant in all of this. Because you're a working podcaster. You're probably not a technologist. You're probably not a lawyer. You probably don't need to know all the vagaries of things. You'll just want to make sure you don't run afoul of the law.

Instead, I want to help you understand what you need to do to make sure that your podcast is most likely to be compliant.

No, you're not going to have to go get a law degree to understand my suggestions.

No, you're not going have to break out your engineering degree or computer programming skills to implement my suggestions.

Instead, I’m offering up some common sense stuff to help make sure your podcast is on the right side of these coming podcast privacy wars, which are just getting started.

Step 1: Understand Where Your Podcast May Have Possible Privacy Implications

Remember that the spirit around the CCPA is to protect the privacy of consumers. In our case, that means the people who subscribe and/or listen to our podcast episodes. It’s incumbent upon us to ensure that their privacy is not violated as they go about the natural process of listening to our content.

The way computers work, they’re capturing information about the computers accessing other bits of stuff on the internet all the time. You can't stop that. When you open up your email, the computer knows it's you. That’s expected.

So the CCPA, as well as GDPR and lots of other regulations yet unveiled, is designed to make sure the data captured about people listening to your podcast don’t violate personal privacy, and that they aren’t shared with other services who might violate said privacy.

Of course, you wouldn’t do this. You're a nice person. I'm a nice person. We're not actively trying to violate the privacy of people. But your podcast might be leaking information and not knowing it. To ensure you are not, you need to understand the technology stack involved. Not deeply. Just enough to know how it happens. And that’s covered by having an understanding of these four general areas:

Where the media files are serving from - The audio files (or I suppose video, if you're doing video as well) that your audience consumes.
Where the RSS feed(s) are serving from - The file that lets apps and directories know that you have a new episode to send to your listeners.
Where your website is hosted - Your show’s home on the web for people who aren’t yet listeners.
Companies/services that sell and place ads in your show’s episodes - If, in fact, your show is big enough to warrant ad sales.
(I missed this in the audio, but…) Companies/services you use to track any activity regarding listeners/viewers of your content.

It’s not important that you understand how it all works. For this suggestion, it’s to enough understand who the players are. Your media files are hosted by your podcast hosting company, right? Your RSS feed is probably generated by your podcast hosting company, right? Your website is hosted on SiteGuard or Squarespace or some other service like that. And if you're using any sort of inserted advertising that either track or allows for the automatic/dynamic insertion of ads for your show, you need to understand who those technology players are.

(If you want to dig into how they work, knock yourself out, but honestly, you probably don't want to do that. Just understand who those players are.)

Step 2: Disclose Those Players On Your Podcast’s Privacy Page

Edit your website’s privacy page (If you don't have one, you should have one already. I don't think I have one. I need one.) and list out those companies and what they do for your podcast. “This company hosts my files. This company hosts my RSS feed. This company is my website host, and this company sells advertising…” and then put in a link to the privacy policy for each of those companies.

No, this isn’t a get out of jail free card. But it does signal that you understand that privacy is a concern, and you’re being transparent about the companies you’re using to power your podcast.

Step 3: Prepare For Change

CCPA just hit at the start of January 2020, and I'd be lying to you if I said there weren’t big changes coming. I'd be lying to you if I said that some of the companies you're using today to do those various services that I mentioned are likely to be swept up in this and, for better or worse, knocked out of business. I'd be lying to you if I said that wasn't going to happen. So the last thing that you have to do is prepare to change. Quickly.

If you take the time to follow the technology path of your files, you’ll survive the Podcast Privacy Wars. If you know every player who touches data generated by your podcast, you’ll survive the Podcast Privacy Wars. If you know everyone you've asked to help in the process of disseminating your podcast, you’ll survive the Podcast Privacy Wars.

If you’ve understood that, have disclosed that, and have linked to the various privacy policies, you’ll survive the Podcast Privacy Wars. And if you’re ready to make a quick change to adapt to this fast-moving realities, making sure you’re not too far in bed with any player, you’ll survive the Podcast Privacy Wars.

That's how you survive this coming privacy war in podcasting. Not by jumping into the fray, or taking up pitchforks. But simply by making sure that you are doing your part in the process. And that's it. Let other people who have more passion than you fight this out. Unless you're the person that has the passion. If so, go for it! I’ll be making the popcorn. And more podcast episodes.

As a reminder:

RateThisPodcast.com/podpont is a cool thing I told you about that yesterday.
BuyMeACoffee.com/EvoTerra helps keep this show going.
If you need some help with managing your business-focused podcast, check out SimplerMedia.pro

I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

Transcript

[Download & share this transcript]

As of January 1st, 2020 you and I can no longer ignore the privacy implications of our podcasting efforts, but you also don't need to go get a law degree. You also don't need to take up arms. You just need to be smart.

Hello, and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me. Evo Terra. Uh, privacy is in the news in a big way as we begin. 20, 20, of course, it's not brand new. Privacy and digital communications has been an issue for quite some time. Remember digital problems surface to by a company called Cambridge Analytica.

Yeah. So privacy is on the forefront of a lot of people's mind. How big companies with big data are manipulating our tiny little brains. And to doing things that they want us to do that aren't necessarily in our best interest. That's one issue. There's also the issue of potential governmental oversight.

Will jackbooted thugs come cracking down your door when they discover that you spend some time on a forum with questionable values, whatever, or just simply do you really want these big companies tracking. What you buy, what you're interested in, serving up interesting ads for you that are kind of creepy and weird.

Maybe you're noticed that when that lady in the tube, well, have you ever noticed that sometimes you are viewing things on the internet and you'll see ads for things you just talked about a few minutes ago. Does that mean our smart devices are listening to us? I mean, our cameras are watching it, so anyhow, privacy is in the news.

Privacy is in the news and with CCPA, the California consumer protection act and GDPR, which is the European regulation that stands for, I used to know, I don't remember any longer. These two things now being the law of the whale, if not the world being close enough, because Europe's pretty big and you probably do some business in California.

Privacy has become and issue, and as podcasters, working podcasters, some of us have been thinking about this for awhile, so I've been thinking about it for a lot longer than most, and a lot of us have been ignoring it. And as I said at the beginning of the program, you can no longer ignore privacy issues.

So you're going to have to do a little bit of educating yourself. This show is not here to educate you all about the vagaries of the GDPR or the CCPA. I'm not here to tell you exactly what you should do to make sure you're 100% compliant in all of this because you're a working podcaster. You're probably not a technologist, you're probably not a lawyer.

You probably don't need to know all the vagaries of things. You'll just want to make sure you don't run a foul of the law and I want to talk to you about that some ways. I think that I'm going to implement that. I think you can definitely implement as well to make sure that you're safe, that you understand what you need to do to make sure that your podcast is compliant.

Or is most likely to be compliant. So here's what I'm going to tell you to do. You do have to know something, and you may have to know a little bit more than you know right now, which is a good thing, which is a totally good thing. Everything I'm going to teach you, well, everything I'm going to suggest that you learn something that you should know anyhow and again, you're not going to have to go get a law degree.

You're not gonna have to break out your engineering degree or computer programming. None of that stuff. Common sense stuff to make sure that your podcast is on the right side of these coming privacy Wars, which are just getting started. And there's really only one thing that you have to do. Well, two things you have to do.

The first one is understand where your possible privacy. Implications come from? Where might you be leaking data? I know that's scary, but don't think about it as scariness. Just let me, let me just walk you through this one. So the whole thing around the CCPA consumer, California consumer privacy act is to protect the privacy of people who, in our case, listen to our podcasts.

Now, the only way that that privacy is somehow violated is if we're capturing information about those people. Now, the way computers work, we capture information about the computers accessing other bits of stuff on the internet all the time, and you can't stop that. It's going to happen, right? We just simply know when you open up your email, it knows it's you.

You've got to log in. You got to get the information, and those with you.

So the CCPA as well as GDPR and lots of other regulations coming down are designed to make sure that for the data that you're capturing about people during your podcast, you may not be capturing it on purpose. In fact, you're not capturing it on purpose. It makes sure that you're not sharing that data out with other people, that you are not violating the privacy of others.

And why would you? You're a nice person. I'm a nice person. We're not actively trying to violate the privacy of people. So step one is understand where you might be leaking the content. So the way that data gets collected about people is basically the only technology stack you need to worry about as a podcaster is the media files you're serving.

That's number one. Your audio files, or I suppose video, if you're doing video as well, the RSS feed that you use. To get your audio files to various distribution points like Apple podcasts and Spotify and your website. Those are the three primary things, and I'll give you a fourth one as well. If you were doing any sort of advertising, if people are inserting ads inside of your content, you need to understand that as well.

So what do you mean by understand is don't worry about how it all works, but just understand who the players are. Your media files are hosted by your podcast hosting company, right? Your RSS feed is probably generated by your podcast hosting company, right? Your website is hosted on site guard or Squarespace or some other service like that, and if you're using any sort of inserted advertising models, if you, if your show is big enough to do that and you're letting people insert ads for you, you need to understand who those technology players are.

Just understand that process, not how they work. If you want to dig into that, knock yourself out, but honestly, you don't want to do that. Just understand who those players are. And then on your website, on your website, here's the action item. Go to your website and make a privacy page. If you don't have one, you should have one already.

I don't think I have one. I need one. Go to your website and make a privacy page and list out those companies. And what they do. This company hosts my files. This company hosts my RSS feed. This company is my website host and this company, I'm using this sell advertising and then put a link to the privacy policy of those companies.

It was a little tax that says, if you're concerned about this kind of stuff, look, here's the companies that I'm using. Here's their privacy policy, because they're the ones collecting the data, not me. That's kind of the implication, and that's it. And honestly guys, that's it for now, for January, 2020 I'd be lying to you if I said this wasn't likely to change.

I'd be lying to you if I said that some of the companies that you're using today to do those various services that I mentioned, if theirs aren't going to change, if they won't be swept up in this and knocked out. I'd be lying to you if I said that wasn't going to happen. So the last thing that you have to do is prepare to change.

So you got all that. So follow the technology path of your files. Make sure you get it from soup to nuts. Anyone who's touching the data, anyone who you're asking to help in the process of disseminating your podcast as far as you can control. And I mentioned the flour, the four primary areas, there might be more.

Make sure you understand that and make sure that you were linking to their privacy policies. That's what you gotta do. And then prepare for change because that's how you survive this coming privacy war in podcasting, not by jumping into the fray, not by taking up pitchforks, but simply by making sure that you are doing your part in the process and that's it.

Let other people who have more passions than you fight this out. Unless you're the person that has the passion and then go for it. You have a grand old time doing that. So three things before I go. One rate this podcast.com/pod Ponte told you about that yesterday. It's kind of cool. Rate this podcast.com/pod pond.

Buy me a coffee.com/evo Terra that helps keep the show going and if you need some help with all of this stuff. Check it out@simplermedia.pro and I shall be back to Morrow. We did another podcast pontifications cheers.

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