Related link:  Website Legal Documents

The FTC's recent settlement against an online college savings program that used toolbars to collect personal information highlights the FTC's continuous efforts to crack down on privacy and data security violations regarding the collection, use, and security of personal information.

This time the focus was on the use of toolbars as a collection vehicle, and the related takeaways are in the form of important new rules for the use of toolbars or similar software for collecting personal information.

Read my article:  Website Legal Documents - FTC Cracks Down On Toolbars For Collecting Personal Data

Chip

Related link - SaaS Reseller Agreement

Your personal New Year’s resolutions are important.  You bet.

 However, if you’re a SaaS or Internet marketer, your best-laid plans for 2012 may hit the skids if you fail to avoid new website legal compliance gotcha’s that emerged in 2011. 

 So, It’s highly recommended that you add to your personal resolutions the requirement to review the checklist of critical developments and related gotcha’s in these 2 categories:  privacy and Internet marketing.

Read my article - 2012 Resolution – Avoid 7 New Website Legal Compliance Gotchas

Chip

Related link - Website Legal Compliance  

Website legal compliance is now under serious consideration by lawmakers in Washington. The U.S. Congress is now considering two proposed bills, which if enacted into law, would provide ground-breaking weapons for law enforcement and content owners to enforce intellectual property rights. If you're a content owner that provides content on the Internet, you have an important stake in the current legislative process.

The competing bills currently under consideration - The Protect IP Act (Protect IP) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) - are both aimed at websites that are focused on infringing the intellectual property rights of content owners. What's both creative and controversial about these proposed laws from a website legal compliance perspective is the enforcement mechanism - shutting down the offending websites regardless of whether they're U.S. based or foreign based websites.

Read my article here:  Website Legal Compliance - Congress Struggles With Protect IP And SOPA Legislation

Related link: Website Legal Documents.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing amendments to the Mail Order Rule that would result in its regulation of all sales made over the Internet regardless of how a buyer might initiate the purchase. 

 If you’re an online merchant, the ramifications are significant.

Read my article here.

Chip

Related link: Website Legal Documents

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) shields operators of “interactive computer services” from liability for defamatory posts by visitors.  The big question is how far does this protection go; what are its limits? 

 A recent ruling by a divided New York Court of Appeals provides insight into the answer.  If you operate a blog site, take heed.

Chip

Related link:  SaaS Attorney

If you're an App developer for Apps that are marketed by App stores that designate your App for children, or if your website is directed to children, or if you knowingly collect personal information from children, strict compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is mandatory.  Failure to do so will result in substantial liability.

Read my article:  FTC Ramps Up COPPA Enforcement and Regulations For Sites That Are Directed To Children .

Best -

Chip

Related link:  Wesite Legal Documents

Proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress, if passed, will essentially make online merchants tax collectors, forcing them to collect sales taxes for all purchasers.  The Main Street Fairness Act (MSFA), introduced by Senator Richard Durban (D-IL), would change the current law which requires merchants to collect sales tax only when the merchant has a physical presence in the state. The effect of MSFA on online merchants, particularly small merchants, could be huge.

Read my article Proposed Legislation Wants To Make You A Tax Collector.

Chip

Related link: Website Legal Documents

Surfers know that the waves come in periodic sets which are separated by relative lulls.  Beginning in 2009, there’s been a tsunami of new and complex legal regulations for websites that also seems to be coming in sets.

We’re now in a temporary lull, but the next set is on the horizon, and rapidly heading  our way.  If you’re an Internet marketer or operate a SaaS business, now is a good time to quickly review the following checklist of the set just passed, as well as the set that’s fast approaching. Read my article The Website Legal Regulation Tsunami Continues – Are You Above Water?

Chip

Related Link: Website Legal Documents

A periodic review of your Privacy Policy is always a good idea, given the significant increase in privacy regulations beginning in 2009.

However, at least 4 developments in the last 6 months provide an impetus for an immediate privacy policy review.

Do it now to avoid significant legal exposure.

Read - 4 Critical Reasons Why You Should Review Your Privacy Policy Right Now .

Best -

Chip

Related link: Website Legal Documents

New legal regulations for ecommerce websites continue to pile up at an unprecedented pace.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently made Google's BUZZ micro blog the poster child for the FTC's effort to show that the old tried and true privacy protection methodology is now not enough.

Once again, the FTC has upped the ante for privacy requirements, and all websites are expected to comply with the new game changing regulations, or face the consequences.

 To learn more about these game changers and what they mean to you, read my article FTC's Settlement With Google Provides Game Changing Internet Privacy Regulations .

Chip