E-commerce = Cybersecurity, compliance to GDPR and ethics

In the digital age we live in, cybersecurity management, GDPR compliance and web ethics are important elements for any website, but when it comes to offering products and services, they become milestones.

In our law firm we have been assisting companies and professionals who approach e-commerce for years, accompanying them on a virtuous path towards maximum data security, compliance with data protection legislation and the offer of an ethically correct user experience, avoiding the use of dark patterns.

Cybersecurity: The Priority

Cybersecurity is a key pillar to protect your website, personal data, and business reputation. The design of the website for the e-commerce business must necessarily deal with an armoring of the IT system underlying the platform, including the front-end, through some fundamental steps:

• Context study: examination of the sales project, study of the market and known relevant risks in the target market.
• Selection of assets and suppliers with proven reliability.
• Functional analysis of the supply cycle and vulnerabilities: In-depth assessment to identify possible security flaws and weaknesses in the site.
• Security planning: creating customized strategies to protect the site from online threats, human error, supply chain risk.
• Incident response: Prepare for and assist in the event of a data breach or cyberattack.
• Recovery: design of a system for the rapid and effective recovery of the site and its contents in the event of an incident.
• Staff training: Security education and culture to ensure that all team members are aware of cybersecurity best practices and remain sensitive to any signs of anomaly.

GDPR compliance: protecting data and complying with the regulation is a duty but it can be also a nice business card!

The GDPR is a legal obligation that affects any website that collects, processes or stores personal data of European citizens. Non-compliance, in addition to exposing you to heavy penalties by the supervisory authorities, denotes an attitude of neglect and lack of respect for users’ rights.

The right approach to compliance goes through:

• Specific risk analysis and possible impact assessment: whatever the method used, ISO standards, ENISA method or other, the risk associated with the processing carried out by the website is the basis for the adoption of appropriate technical and organizational measures.
• A compliance assessment: identification of areas where the site may not be in line with the provisions of the GDPR and planning of the activities to be carried out, also based on the evolutionary developments of the site.
• Legal documentation: drafting of privacy notices, privacy policies and agreements with data processors.
• The management of cookies: identification and categorization of cookies, drafting of the policy in compliance with the guidelines of the Supervisory Authority.
• Management of consents: correct collection of consents from data subjects for marketing and profiling activities and management of their valid archiving or revocation.
• Breach management: Inclusion of the site in the perimeter of the incident response report.

Web ethics: no Dark Patterns

The online sales activity, however, does not “only” require compliance with the law, it assumes that, in the opinion of our law firm, ethical design as an essential requirement to build a relationship of trust with users. Dark patterns, deceptive practices that negatively affect the user experience, damage the reputation of the site.

The support provided by our firm to operators promotes web ethics in an attempt to have a correct, transparent and respectful approach towards users who are the engine and the most valuable asset of online business.

We have already had the opportunity to deal with dark patterns previously, but it is worth remembering that the direction outlined by the European legislator with the REGULATION (EU) 2022/2065 is a clear fight to dark patterns and their use does not go unnoticed either by users, consumer associations or the various authorities of control, from the Data Protection Authority to the AGCM (Italian Competition Authority).

In conclusion, cybersecurity, GDPR compliance, and web ethics are critical pillars for the success of your website. Users’ trust is your most valuable asset online, and following best practices in security and ethics is the best way to build it.