Legal Problems The Newbie Should Know About

Legal problems can easily sink your internet business before you even begin to swim. Legal requirements abound in the internet arena. It’s your responsibility to get yourself up to speed on these requirements. Ignorance of the law is not acceptable.

Links to your Contact Information and All About Us Information should be on all of your webpages. Your main legal information is your Copyright, Terms of Service, Disclaimer, and Privacy Policy and they should be included as well.

Copyright

Make sure the word copyright and the copyright symbol are at the bottom of your webpages. If you are selling anything, include the words All Rights Reserved. If your product is available worldwide, include that term also.

Terms Of Service

An age statement is strongly advised. In the US, the minimum age is 13 years old, 18 in most other countries. To safeguard yourself, use 18 years old as the required age for your site. Also include the terms for using your site.

Cyberspace has its boundaries. There are rules and regulations that govern advertising. They are called the Dot Com Disclosures. They can be found here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/dotcom/index.html

Disclaimer

The internet is riddled with viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, and all those other attackers of your computer. Tell visitors to take precautions. Are you giving advice?

Always let your visitors know they should see a relevant professional before using your advice. Due to the fast changing nature of the internet, information goes out of date. You cannot be held liable for that, so let your visitors know.

If you sell a product your visitors expect to help them make money, never say the amount they will make. Your legal problems will multiply if you do. You really don’t know.

So many variables go into others being as successful as you. The visitor may not have the internet savvy that you have, or the motivation. You can’t guarantee results. Here is where you state all of that information.

Privacy Policy

Should you capture a visitor’s private information, include your policy for doing so. Tell your visitor what you intend to do with the information. If you intend to share the captured information, you must say so.

I’ll just add this about spamming. This is a small area in the Can Spam Act that receives much abuse. It states, “The Act also prohibits false or misleading subject headings in commercial email messages.”

Don’t send any grand promises of fame and fortune in your email subject line. This is generally done to encourage people to open your email.

Build a great relationship with your list. There’s no need for grandstanding. When the people who know you see your name they will open yours email. You can take that to the bank! Find spam info here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/rules.htm.

I can’t guarantee that you will not have legal problems during your internet journey. But if you include these items in your website, you would have done much to reduce your risk.