Are Your Website Legal Documents Up To Date?
Can you honestly say that you website legal documents are up to date? Do you have an Internet privacy policy and Internet terms of use policy posted on your blog or website. The reality is that many blogs and websites have yet to add these policies despite the FTC Disclosure Regulations, which came into effect on December 1, 2009.
There are some things in life you don’t gamble on. Even if your website is not generating money, you need to have your website legal documents in place to help protect you against unnecessary legal problems that can leave a BIG hole in your bank account. It isn’t a matter of whether or not you can afford to put these documents in place. It is a matter of not being able to afford the consequences if someone comes after you and they are not in place.
Since the FTC regulations have taken effect, it has been “game on” for those that seek to find people who do not have their website legal documents in place. Tracking you down seems to have become the new “in thing” to do.
Now if you are into tactics that don’t bear scrutiny in the light of day, even posting your Internet terms of use policy and Internet privacy policy will not protect you, as the defendants in this FTC settlement found out.
But, if you are doing all in your power to work above board and within the confines of the many regulations out there, does it not also make sense to protect yourself in every way possible?
Don’t take chances.
Internet Lawyer Mike Young offers the Website Legal Forms Generator Gold software as a way for website owners to reduce their risk and put their website legal documents in place. Check it out today.
To Your Success,
SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com
I did not know about it, does it apply in Canada ?, my server is there and I do live there and my website is about a city there. Your blog is very good, keep it up.
That is a very good question Bob. I am Canadian as well, but I promote products that can be sold outside of Canada, mainly in the United States. Because of this, and because of the in-depth nature of the FTC regulations, I protect my websites with the proper disclaimers.
Your website appears to be totally dedicated to the Quebec restaurant scene and the Google adsense is targeted there as well. At the very least I personally think you should be adding a contact page.
I am not a lawyer, so I can not give you legal advice. I would suggest that you check with a lawyer familiar with the Internet laws for Canada and let us know what you find out. I would be surprised if you did not at least need a contact page, privacy policy and terms of use policy.
In your case, a Canadian lawyer might be able to draft those so that they are more applicable to your website if they are required. I know I had to make changes to my policies to reflect the fact that I am Canadian.
I am surprised by how few internet-specific laws seem to have been introduced so far.
That said, the pointless digital economy bill in the UK suggests that this may be because the government have very little understanding of how the internet works.
Yes, it is definitely worth having legal documents on your site if you are trading, but I do wonder how binding many of them can be when the law is currently so blurred.
Hi Richard, I am sure that we have not seen the last of the new Internet laws as the legislators now seem to have an open door for their creation. As you mention, many do seem pointless, but so do warnings on coffee cups that the contents are hot in my opinion. Having the legal documents posted is yet another way website owners are attempting to cover their assets. It will come to a point where you might have a hard time finding the website underneath all the disclaimers. I am toying with the idea of saying at the top of my next site, “Welcome to my AFFILIATE blog.”
So true – I just saw a blog today that had 8 legal pages on the sidebar – that’s getting a bit crazy. Hopefully they are covered.
I really need to get policies on more of my sites tho – but it just seems like overkill, I understand the need to inform people, but how many people really read those pages?
Never thought from the legal perspective.But now after reading your post I realize the importance.
Didn’t really give a second thought to this aspect. Thanks for the article that reminded me about the essential legal aspect of the websites.
Yes I do agree for any website development legal documents are very important.definitely having legal documents on your is worth. It is a matter of not being able to afford the consequences if someone comes after you and they are not in place.
lol, I think all web property owners agree with you. But, if it helps to give our customers a sense of trust, then it will be worth it.
I personally think you should be adding a contact page.
I never thought about this. Thanks for the article that reminded me about the essential legal aspect of the websites. This a matter of not being able to afford the consequences if someone comes after you and they are not in place.Thank you so much for sharing this.
I am relaxed now since I have recently updated all the legal documents of my website. I always thought that there are a lot of websites available over the internet and so searching for the frauds would not be possible for the license issuers. But this blog was completely a wake up call for me. I immediately updated all the legal documents of my website and have stored them in a safe place.
That’s a wake-up call for all of us. In fact I also feel that it is important to have all your legal documents up to date. You just cannot ignore the fact that you will be in a big trouble if you do not take a step to clarify all your documents. The rules and regulations to have a website over the internet have become very strict now and so being up to date will help you in the long run.
These days it is become very important to hold all the legal documents before you start with the online business activities. No doubt that you can start executing your business activities without all of the legal formalities but there will always be a doubt and the fear of getting caught if we do not hold the documents which we as non-spammers are supposed to hold.
Legal documents would give us the permission to safely execute all our business activities and enjoy the freedom and protection over our website. But still there is some of the website over the internet which is still not registered. Those who are not yet registered are surely going to get messed up and would be officially charged a penalty towards not holding the legally updated documents.
I haven’t checked any of my documents till date. In fact I don’t even remember that I have any of the documents with me. But now since the rules and regulations have become strict it would be good if I have all the documents of my website legally updated. It is actually a wake-up call for all the website holders for if they do not want their website to be considered as illegal
Those who are aware of the consequences of not having a legally updated website should try and spread the message to those who hold a website and are still not aware of it. This would help to reduce the elimination of those sites which are legal but are not registered over the internet specifically. It would be good for Google also as this would reduce the work pressure over them.