Web Master Law. Legal issues for Web Masters

Web Master Law. Legal issues for Web Masters.

This page will not cover all legal issues for web masters. This page is for basic legal issues for web masters. You should contact a qualified legal expert before taken any legal actions.

Other links

Save the Internet. Net Neutrality The Freedom of the Internet is at stake. Watch and Read NOW!! It's YOUR FREEDOM they my stop.

WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) evaluate the accessibility of their web content. Though estimates vary, most studies find that about one fifth (20%) of the population has some kind of disability. Not all of these people have disabilities that make it difficult for them to access the Internet. For example, a person whose legs are paralyzed can still navigate a web site without any disability-related difficulty. Still, if only halfor even a quarterof these individuals have disabilities that affect their ability to access the Internet, this is a significant portion of the population. Businesses would be unwise to purposely exclude 20, 10 or even 5 percent of their potential customers from their Web sites. Schools, universities, and government entities would be not only unwise, but, in many countries, they would also be breaking the law if they did so. (This is provided for information:)

WebAIM Simulations include:-

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). W3C WAI's work on accessibility of Ajax, DHTML, and other application technologies includes the Accessibility for Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) Suite Roadmap for Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA Roadmap).

It is a legal requirement for your organisation's website and intranet to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). But perhaps more importantly, it makes good business sense to ensure all your customers can access your goods and services. It is estimated that 10 million adults in the UK have a disability and the combined spending power of disabled adults is £80 billion annually.

The Guild of Accessible Web Designers (GAWDS) is a worldwide association of professional organisations, web designers and developers working together to promote the use and preservation of accessible design standards. Promoting a vision of the future that assumes accessible web design to be, relevant, obtainable, and not at odds with successful business practice or good visual and usable design." (This is provided for information: The A Great Portal Collection of Websites by DOT Solutions. is not a member of The Guild of Accessible Web Designers (GAWDS) .

Internet Watch Foundation Site Index (Legal issues. Reports illegal and offensive Internet Issues.) The IWF act as a filter for the Police and will act immediately on any reports of images images of child abuse hosted anywhere in the world, criminally obscene content hosted in the UK and criminally racist content hosted in the UK.

Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) The VGT is an interactive unit of police officers who accept reports from the public about cases of online abuse involving children. Any suspect encounters in chatrooms, on Instant Messenger, via e-mail or through the web can be reported to them directly.

SafeSurf Creating a Safe Internet Without Censorship Help Us Accomplish This Goal.

The Right to Link Video on YouTube The Right to Link Campaign

The Right to Link Campaign. Your right to create, circulate and follow links is threatened. Watch the video to find out more and visit our site to take action to protect your rights.

The Right to Link: the right to create, forward and follow links.

Why do we need a campaign to protect the right to link? Well moves are afoot in the marketplace that could lose us internet freedoms that we have taken for granted till now. Most of us aren't even aware it's happening.

These threats to our freedoms are coming from 'old' media, especially the print newspapers, at the expense of the 'new' media — search engines, bloggers, social networks — and any business that uses online information. These changes could even threaten our ability to function as a democracy by restricting access to information.

All should be free to create, use and circulate links — they are the signposts to content on the web.

Think about this. If someone owns the signpost to information, the next step may well be to use the law, including criminal sanctions, to police their online land grab — if necessary by lobbying Government.

This is an unprecedented extension of ownership, by stealth, over a part of the information superhighway.

PCeU - Police Central e-crime Unit To create a national centre of excellence to combat e-crime, (electronic crime), in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. To improve the police response to victims of e-crime by developing the capability of the Police Service across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, co-ordinating the law enforcement approach to all types of e-crime, and by providing a national investigative capability for the most serious e-crime incidents. Metropolitan Police Service

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual. The IETF Mission Statement is documented in RFC 3935.

EFF is a nonprofit group of passionate people lawyers, volunteers, and visionaries working to protect your digital rights.

UK Intellectual Property Office (UK law)

ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

ICANN Dispute Policy InterNIC FAQs on the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") (As Approved by ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on October 24, 1999) http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm or http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm

ICANN-accredited registrars.

ICANN Whois Data Reminder Policy. At least annually, a registrar must present to the registrant the current Whois information, and remind the registrant that provision of false Whois information can be grounds for cancellation of their domain name registration. Registrants must review their Whois data, and make any corrections. InterNIC Registrar Problem Reports. If you have a problem with one of the registrars, you should first try to resolve it with that registrar.

Considerations for innocent domain name owners.

Sign an online petition to stop domain name parking (also known as Cybersquatting). What is Cybersquatting? Did you ever try to get a domain name for your business, only to find that it was already taken - but not being legitimately used. The owner is engaged in cybersquatting! The cybersquatters grab the domain names and often resell them for hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. This practice is rampant and makes it almost impossible for you to get good domain names for legitimate purposes.

Information Commissioner's site. Laws require that customers opt in to sharing of data for marketing purposes where the marketing would be by email. Businesses should be wary of buying data from third-party sources, he said, and be sure to verify they have legal right to use the data in the way they intend. Read Opt-In email

Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Directive (on wikipedia) (officially Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data) is a European Union directive which regulates the processing of personal data within the European Union. It is an important component of EU privacy and human rights law. The directive was implemented in 1995 by the European Commission.

Data Protection at the European Commission

Ofcom, (Office of Communication. TV and Radio regulators ), is the communications regulator. We regulate TV and radio, fixed line telecoms and mobiles, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.

Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA") present grave risks to innocent domain name owners. This page offers some general comments for domain name owners to assist them in avoiding loss of their domain names.

Cybertelecom's DMCA Information and Background Material

US and Link Domain Law. Congress passed a law this week aimed at protecting kids from stumbling onto porn through misspelled domain names, searches, and "misleading" hyperlinks. Be sure everything is clearly labelled or you could be fined or imprisoned!

H.R. 4472: Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Govtrack.us)

Safer Surfing, To help prevent viewing of Adult sites

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (USA)

The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Established in 1994 and is an administrative unit in Geneva, Switzerland. Its purpose is to offer arbitration and mediation services for the resolution of commercial disputes between private parties involving intellectual property. The dispute resolution procedures offered by the Center, which lend themselves also to other types of commercial disputes, constitute alternatives to court litigation. The Center is international, independent and neutral, and is assisted in its operation by advisory bodies composed of external experts in international dispute resolution and intellectual property. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) options, in particular arbitration.

Internationalized domain name (IDN) ( Described by Wikipedia ) is an Internet domain name that (potentially) contains non-ASCII characters. Such domain names could contain letters with diacritics, as required by many European languages, or characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. However, the standard for domain names does not allow such characters, and much work has gone into finding a way around this, either by changing the standard, or by agreeing on a way to convert internationalized domain names into standard ASCII domain names while preserving the stability of the domain name system. Translation Links.

Domain Name Transfer's ICANN Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy. All registrars in the .biz, .com, .info, .name, .net, and .org top-level domains follow the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (often referred to as the "UDRP"). Under the policy, most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes must be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration before a registrar will cancel, suspend, or transfer a domain name. Disputes alleged to arise from abusive registrations of domain names (for example, cybersquatting) may be addressed by expedited administrative proceedings that the holder of trademark rights initiates by filing a complaint with an approved dispute-resolution service provider. To invoke the policy, a trademark owner should either (a) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder (or where appropriate an in-rem action concerning the domain name) or (b) in cases of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

Registration web site This website has been established to provide the public information regarding Internet domain name registration services.

American Registry for Internet Numbers ARIN

UKReg Domain Name Dispute Policy

Nominet Disputes account all registrations in the .uk Top Level Domains.

Domain Name law (Sedo)

Top websites. Domains Top Address. Find or sell domain names. Want to sell a Domain Name? Want to make money from a unused domain name you own? Only pay on a sale. Need to find a domain name for your business? Search now!

PCI compliance This s required if you plan on accepting cardholders' information for an e-commerce business. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements that attempts to keep credit card information secure by maintaining a secure server. The following document attempts to correlate the effects of SSL, (Secure Socket Layer), and mod_frontpage versions on PCI compliance scanning.

Design for All (DfA) or inclusive design means design of mainstream products, services and systems to be accessible by as broad a range of users as possible. E-accessibility is about making the computer technology that we all take for granted accessible.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, (CFAA), is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986 intended to reduce "hacking" of computer systems.

Also view our Scams and hoaxes. Fraud warnings. Virus Attacks.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit that offers a flexible copyright for creative work.

U.S. Copyright Office Summary of the DMCA

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

DMCA Information EFF: DMCA Archive

European Copyright Directive (EUCD)

The Foundation for Information Policy Research is an independent body that studies the interaction between information technology and society. Its goal is to identify technical developments with significant social impact, commission and undertake research into public policy alternatives, and promote public understanding and dialogue between technologists and policy-makers in the UK and Europe.

Rep. Rick Boucher's website

Text of the DMCA

Title 17 of the U.S. code

Senate DMCA Vote by Senator Name, Vote Position, and Home State (U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes - 105th Congress - 2nd Session - Vote 137)

Help Net Security

Example of a fully automatic DMCA user interface of a ISP

DMCA legal threats to a software developer who won, good read

Internet Crime Complaint Center. A partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the NW3C (National White Collar Crime Center). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has reported about Scareware. Scareware is design to scare you into take an action, which will usually cause you some type of problems. For example indicating that you have a virus on your computer and to remove it you should run a program, the program suggested which is said will remove the virus could actually infect your computer. The IC3 warned users that although these pop-up security warnings look authentic and sometimes even appear to be running a real-time anti virus scan of the users computer, they are not to be trusted. The scareware is intimidating to most users and extremely aggressive in its attempt to lure the user into purchasing the rogue software that will allegedly remove the viruses from their computer, the note stated. If a user receives these anti-virus pop-ups, it is recommended to close the browser or shut the system down, then run a full trusted anti-virus scan, (not any supplied by any such warnings), whenever the computer is turned back on. More scamming information. Anti-POP-UP & Toolbars. Anti-Virus Software Tools & Utilities

The Internet Services Providers'Association (ISPA UK) is the UK's Trade Association for providers of Internet services. ISPA UK was established in 1995 and promotes competition, self-regulation and the development of the Internet industry.

Check for rubbish service

Otelo (United Kingdom) is also known as the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman. An Ombudsman Service for public communication providers and their customers.

The Network Abuse Clearinghouse Intended to help the Internet community to report and control network abuse and abusive users. Since the best place to report abusive activity varies from one system to another, they are trying to keep a master database of reporting addresses for users throughout the net to use.

RSA Data Security, Inc.,

Greplaw Geeks, Laws and everything in between.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus and BBB OnLine Complaint System. The BBB does not take sides in a dispute. The BBB works to facilitate communication between the company and the consumer, to help both sides come to a satisfactory resolution to the complaint. In many cases, dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration, may be available to help resolve the dispute.

Patents: Commission proposes rules for inventions using software

No Software Patents! Under the influence of the patent system and big industry lobbyists, the European Union is on the verge of making a huge mistake: to pass a law that would legalize software patents. If that happens, you will pay dearly. Europe's software industry will fall victim to unscrupulous extortioners. A cartel of large corporations will crush smaller competitors. Consequently, we will all pay more money for less good and less secure software. You personally, your household, your company, your government, all of us. You'll know when you get the bill. When someone breaks into your computer, reads your E-mails, and steals the password of your bank account. When your computer crashes every day. When spam doesn't stop. When prices go up and companies shut down. When people lose their jobs. (* This is for information only and is not DOT Solutions view).

The Internet Content Rating Association The original aims of RSACi Rating System, (now floded), to protect children from potentially harmful content while preserving free speech on the internet, continue to provide the cornerstone for ICRA's work, backed by the biggest names online.

Micosoft Infomation RSACi Rating System Internet Explorer is installed with a PICS-based content rating system known as the Recreational Software Advisory Council on the Internet (RSACi) system. This built-in PICS support can help you control the types of content that users can access on the Internet. When you enable Content Advisor, Internet Explorer reads the meta tags to determine whether Web sites meet your criteria for suitable content. You can also subscribe to independent ratings bureaus or use third-party ratings to control access to Web content.

RSACi is an open, objective content ratings system for the Internet developed by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC), which has since been folded into the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA), an independent, nonprofit organization. The RSACi system provides information about the level of sex, nudity, violence, and offensive (vulgar or hate-motivated) language in software games and Web sites. For more information about ICRA and the RSACi rating system, see the ICRA Web site at The Internet Content Rating Association You can also download the ICRA's new content ratings system from this Web site.

The following table shows the five levels of the RSACi Rating System and describes the content allowed for each level. Level 0 is the most restrictive, preventing users from accessing Web sites that include offensive language, nudity, sex, and violence. Level 4 is the least restrictive, allowing users to access Web sites that present explicit content.

RSAC no longer exists. In 1999 it was "folded into" a new organization, the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA). The original aims of RSAC, to protect children from potentially harmful content while preserving free speech on the internet, continue to provide the cornerstone for ICRA's work, backed by the biggest names online.

Level Language rating Nudity rating Sex rating Violence rating

4
Explicit or crude language
Provocative frontal nudity
Explicit sexual activity
Wanton and gratuitous violence

3
Obscene gestures
Frontal nudity
Non-explicit sexual touching
Killing with blood and gore

2
Moderate expletives
Partial nudity
Clothed sexual touching
Killing

1
Mild expletives
Revealing attire
Passionate kissing
Fighting

0
Inoffensive slang
No nudity
No sexual acts
No violence

You can set content ratings to any level for each of the four content areas. All content ratings are set to Level 0 by default. When Content Advisor is turned on and the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS) rating for a Web site exceeds the rating level you specify, Internet Explorer prevents users from accessing the site. Also, you can configure Internet Explorer to prevent or allow users to access unrated Web content. For more information, see "Configuring Content Advisor Settings" later in this chapter.

The W3C Patent Policy governs the handling of patents in the process of producing Web standards. The goal of this policy is to assure that Recommendations produced under this policy can be implemented on a Royalty-Free (RF) basis.

Alliance against Intellectual Property Theft

Identity Theft Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee, a collaboration between UK financial bodies, government and the police to combat the threat of identity theft.

Web Site Content Theft

MyFreeCopyright. Provides a third-party non-repudiation, registered dating of your original digital creation. By using this service, you publicly associate your digital copyright and defined rights to you.

Foundation for Information Policy Research, (FIPR). An independent body that studies the interaction between information technology and society. Its goal is to identify technical developments with significant social impact, commission and undertake research into public policy alternatives, and promote public understanding and dialogue between technologists and policy-makers in the UK and Europe.

The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies.

Copyscape Search for copies of your page on the Web

Web Site Content Theft

The Stanford Copyright & Fair Use Centre (US law)

US Copyright Office (US law)

United States Patents and Trademark Office. USPTO Trademarks Homepage. This page provides the major documentation, tools, applications, links, and useful information for all your trademark needs. If you are new to the USPTO and would like to learn more about Trademarks, visit the Trademarks Basics page.

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. (Trade Marks and Designs). OHIM is the official trade marks and designs registration office of the European Union. The Community trade mark (CTM) and registered Community design (RCD) are the gateway to the European single market – providing protection for Intellectual Property Rights throughout the European Union, which covers 27 countries and almost 500m people. The Trademarks and Design Registration Office of the European Union.

OUT-LAW Free legal news and guidance, mostly on IT and e-commerce issues. These issues can affect any organisation, and OUT-LAW is as much for those in a software start-up as it is for the compliance team at a bank

Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The National Anti-Cookie League

Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Project. Enabling smarter Privacy Tools for the Web.

Econsumer I you wish to file a cross-border complaint that will be quickly accessible to multiple government enforcement agencies. The information contained in your complaint will allow the government agencies to spot current fraudulent schemes and help us decide how we might take action. By reporting your complaint you may also help prevent other consumers from having the same problem you experienced.

The Open Web Application Security Project released a helpful document that lists what they think are the top ten security vulnerabilities in web applications.

Adobe Flex 2 is the most complete, powerful application development solution for creating and delivering rich Internet applications (RIAs) within the enterprise and across the web. It enables enterprises to create personalized, multimedia-rich applications that dramatically enhance user experience, revolutionizing the way people interact with the web. Overview - Rich Internet Applications.

Internet Spyware Prevention Act. (Knicknamed the I-Spy Act).This bill will enforce criminal penalties of fines and up to five years in jail on anyone who intentionally allows software to be copied. More SpyWare Removal links.

OUT-LAW has free legalnews and guidance, mostly on IT and e-commerce issues.

OUT-LAW guides include:-

Legal info about user-generated content

IP addresses and the Data Protection Act

Legal reasons to make intranets, extranets and software accessible

Email notices and email footers

Contracts can't be changed online without notice, court rules. Companies must notify customers before changing terms. A federal appeals court has ruled that companies can't change their contracts and post those revisions online without notifying customers first. 'Parties to a contract have no obligation to check the terms on a periodic basis to learn whether they have been changed by the other side,'. The ruling download PDF, (PDF Format), by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Is Your SaaS Agreement Enforceable -- Even Against Simba, The Agreeable Cat? I thought I'd seen and heard it all in my Internet law practice, until a client referred me to an interesting article about a kitty cat named Simba that walked across a keyboard and clicked on an online, click-through agreement (also known as a "click-wrapped" agreement). My client wanted to know whether the agreement was enforceable. My reply - against Simba the cat, or its owner who put Simba up to this?

How to Construct Your Privacy Policy. Constructing a privacy policy is a simple process. Simply fill out the questions below and submit it to us - we'll send you a Web page to post to your site. The DMA's Privacy Policy Generator. Read DOT Solutions main Privacy Policy

The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. Do you use email in your business? The CAN-SPAM Act, a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email. It covers all commercial messages, which the law defines as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” including email that promotes content on commercial websites. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all email – for example, a message to former customers announcing a new product line – must comply with the law.