Website Requirements
03 December 2007
Certain rules apply to websites for the benefit of the owner and visitor. Should a visitor send information to it, the owner has to comply with sales of goods or services, data protection and distance selling laws, normally described in the ‘Terms of Use’.
Terms contain the contract the owner wants to apply, describing conditions under which the visitor can use the website. The act of entering is an acceptance of the Terms. Visitors disobeying them are not welcome and they have broken that contract. If damage is caused, the owner may take action under his rights in the Terms. Transactions have specific terms applying, usually agreed through a click confirmation box.
Terms include:
• contact details
• rules binding on the owner or his type of business
• limits of the owner’s liability
• constraints on visitors actions
• content copyright belonging to the owner
• the applying law (usually the owner’s domicile)
• warnings that a visitor uses links to other sites at their own risk
Privacy Policies describe:
• what type of data the website collects and why
• how it will be collected, protected, used and stored, ie safely and confidentially
• who the ‘data controller’ is
• rights to correct data
It is illegal to send unsolicited marketing emails to individual consumers. Whilst Privacy Policies may say the visitor agrees to receiving emails from the website or that they are deemed to have given consent, the owner should ensure active agreement through an ‘opt-in box’.
‘Cookies’, text files stored on the visitor’s computer, facilitates easy use. Without cookies, refreshing webpages or reverting to the previous page takes longer but they can be used with malicious intent. It comes down to how much you trust a site; it is your risk. Owners often confirm that their cookies are not malicious and only assist.
Consumers should take a cautious approach. Terms and Privacy Policies are the best way for owners to deliver required information. Visitors, taking care, should read the Terms and Privacy Policy and proceed only if they are satisfied that they are adequately protected.
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