Website Building Revisited: 5 Legal Concepts You Need To Know
On the blog a couple of weeks ago, we talked about the essential concepts you need to know to get your business website up and running. That post focused on making your website as marketable as possible in the shortest amount of time possible.
In this follow-up post, we leave the world of marketing and talk about legal compliance. You can have the most marketing and sales-savvy website in the world, but if it does not comply with the law — Houston, you have a problem. So here’s what you need to know about websites and the law.
The FTC – Website Regulators
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the primary federal regulatory agency in charge when it comes to websites. The agency’s mission is to protect consumers and promote competition. Therefore, the FTC guides businesses in maintaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The bottom line here is that when you are developing your website, it’s the FTC you are trying to please. Thankfully, the FTC has a free guide that lets you know the ins and outs of website legal compliance, so you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.
Consumer Privacy
A Privacy Policy lets end users of your site know what data you collect, how you use that info, and to whom you disclose that information. It also describes the security measures you have in place to protect their data.
If you have a website, it is your responsibility to comply with state and federal laws when collecting and storing personal information. A written privacy policy puts the general public and the FTC on notice that you take that responsibility seriously. Failure to protect consumer privacy can result in FTC fines and other legal fees.
Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between you, the website owner, and end-user. It is an online agreement that lets everyone know who owns what, who is liable for what, and what everyone can expect from each other. Terms and Conditions are important because usually, they are the only agreement in place between the end-user and the website owner. So, for example, if you want to keep unsavory comments off your site, you can spell out your definition of “unsavory” in the terms and conditions and remove any that do not meet the standard without incident.
Advertising Claims and Disclaimers
Just like the ads on television, website owners are prohibited from using unfair or deceptive advertising techniques online. Therefore, any online offers, sales pages, or statements that you make on your site must be truthful and cannot mislead potential buyers. So if you advertise that your magic pill leads to 10 pounds of weight loss overnight, that magic pill better deliver.
To avoid any potential issues with advertising claims, it’s important to add appropriate disclaimers for your products and services online. Disclaimers limit the scope of obligations and rights that are enforceable in this legally recognized relationship.
If you intend to collect and use email addresses to market your products or services, you must comply with the CAN-SPAM ACT (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) and, likely, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ruling.
The CAN-SPAM Act sets the rules for commercial email marketing and allows for a penalty of up to $16,000 per email for every message that violates its provisions. GDPR goes even farther in its attempts to protect data privacy. Brands must collect affirmative consent that is “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous” before acquiring a consumer’s email address. The law also requires that brands maintain records of this consent throughout their use of the data.
Fortunately, email services like ConvertKit, Mailerlite, MailChimp, and Aweber have CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance built-in. However, as a business owner, it is essential to know that the burden falls on you to make sure your email marketing follows the law.
Was this turn down legal compliance road helpful? What else would you like to know before building your website? Let me know in the comments below.