The UK ICO’s last-minute revisions to its official guidance on the cookie laws focused on the possibility of “implied consent” for the use of cookies. This softening of the ICO’s position was sensible, notwithstanding that the whole cookie law saga brings EU tech law into disrepute. There was, however, another option open to the ICO. […]
Internet Law Archives - Page 2 of 5 - SEQ Legal
Google, paid links and English prisons
Google’s prohibits paid links that pass PageRank: “Buying or selling links that pass PageRank is in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results.” Google acknowledges that advertising links are a hugely important part of the online economy, but recommends that such links be structured in such a […]
6 ways to manage social media legal risks
The legal risks associated with running a social networking service are not just of academic interest. Examples of lawsuits abound: The UK’s own Friends Reunited found itself on the wrong end of a defamation claim a full decade ago. More recently, during 2011, MySpace was accused of supplying personal information without the consent of users. […]
Selling online and the law – part 4 – information disclosure
An important part of legal compliance for online sellers is the provision of certain information to users and customers. This post seeks to list all of the main categories of information that need to be disclosed on the seller’s website. There’s no way to disguise the nature of this post: it’s a list. A long […]
How to write a delivery policy
From the perspective of the customer, the delivery policy may be the most important legal document on a website. It should answer questions that are of keen interest to all customers: by what means will my goods be delivered? When will they be delivered? Do I have to sign for delivery? Will I have to […]
Sellling online and the law – part 3 – product descriptions
Product descriptions and photographs are among the more important aspects of a typical online sales strategy. Descriptions should be clear, informative and fresh; photos should be properly exposed and focused, and large enough enough to show off the products to best effect. But also, descriptions and photos must be legal. This article – part 3 […]
Selling online and the law – part 2 – regulation of products
If you are selling online, you need to ensure that the products you are selling are legal. Some types of product – nuclear warheads, etc – are clearly illegal; others are potentially legal, subject to compliance special regulations. Pharmaceuticals, food and toys fall into this category. Then there’s a residual category of products, not given […]
Selling online and the law – part 1 – introduction
Over the past few months, I’ve been involved in the development of a couple of new businesses selling products online: a toy retailer and a fashion accessory design/supply business. As well as hacking together the websites for the businesses (using the wonderful Drupal) I’ve been responsible for legal compliance. With the experience fresh in memory, […]
Employees and social media: possibilities and pitfalls
Social media is huge. By the end of 2011, 37.4 million UK adults were using Facebook regularly, 32.1 million were using YouTube, 15.5 million had Twitter accounts, 7.9 million had LinkedIn accounts and 6.7 million had Flickr accounts. And that’s just the adults. But social media services and traditional businesses have an uneasy relationship. One […]
How copyright protects websites
There is no copyright in a website as such, but copyright will usually protect some or all of the elements of a website. Copyright protects specific classes of “work”. Those classes are enumerated in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Section 1(1) provides: Copyright is a property right which subsists in accordance with this […]
