The Web & the Law
The law as it applies to internet operations can be categorised into several groups. These are:
These acts are concerned with data held in record management systems, e.g. databases, file systems, etc. Such information is often collected via web-forms (e.g. when registering with a site) and from website analytics tools. These acts create duties in the following areas of website management:
In terms of this act, 'damage' can encompasses things like viruses, spyware and adware that are hosted on your website and that have the potential to corrupt a visitor's computer. If this occurs, you could be held liable costs. To prevent this, you need to pay attention to the following area of website management:
This act seeks to prevent the dishonest use of Information Technology. That is, a website should not be created for the purpose of a deceitful gain, e.g. by the dissemination of deliberately incorrect information. To ensure compliance, you should pay particular attention to the following activity:
This legislation encompassed messages that may cause a nuisance to private individuals. This has a similar impact to the Data Protection Acts above.
From 1st April 2007, every Irish-registered limited liability company must publish certain formal information about itself on its public website (and in its emails). Among the details specified are its formal legal name and registration number. Full details can be found on the website of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. (Note - unlimited and private ownership companies do not seem to be affected.)
This Statutory Instrument is intended to provide consumers with basic information on the firms with which they are dealing, perhaps as a means of enhancing trust. Thankfully, it has a relatively minor impact on the activities of website management:
As discussed on the previous page, these are probably the widely abused of all laws on the internet. Just think of the millions of music files, videos and images that are downloaded from the web without permission each day. The purpose of the copyright acts is to protect the creators of such works from unlicensed reproduction. This has implications for the following areas of development:
This area is defined mainly in terms of case law and the constitution. Indeed, Búnreacht na hÉireann (article 40) gives special mention to the right of the individual to his/her good name. On the other hand, journalists often claim that such protections go too far and prevent them from publishing material that may be in the public interest. This may soon be exacerbated if a planned new Privacy Bill is passed as currently drafted.
The impact on website management of libel and defamation is as follows:
This acts makes it an offence for a person to publish material that is threatening, abusive or insulting and is intended or is likely to stir up hatred. The impact on website management is:
Since the 1990s, substantially more freedom has been granted to publishers to circulate adult material. However, difficulties in interpretation remain and there is little case law to go on. According to Wikipedia although such material is legal in Ireland, "it is not allowed to depict any acts which are illegal in the state" (read more on Wikipedia). The impact on website management procedures of this act is as follows:
The scope of these acts needs no discussion.
A veritable bounty of legislation governs what is and is not allowed for online trading. The most important of these include:
This act provides for the recognition of e-signatures, e-contracts or e-documents.
This act stipulates that goods must be of a certain quality and fit for the purpose for which they are intended.
This act applies to defective products bought by consumers which subsequently cause injury.
These regulations apply to contract terms with consumers which have not been individually negotiated, e.g. the terms and conditions on a website.
This directive aims to protects consumers in respect of contracts between different member states.
This regulation seeks to prevent the publication of misleading advertisements.
This applies to the rights you have to use a person's private data.
Together all these eCommerce regulations impact on the following areas of site management:
(Note, even if the terms and conditions of your website state that all disputes will be resolved in Irish courts, there may be laws in countries to which the goods and services are sold that carry extra provisions. Also, remember that online tax liabilities are dealt with in the annual Finance Acts and by international agreement.)
I am no expert in online gambling, so I cannot comment much on this area. My understanding is that a licence is required before a gambling website may be opened in Ireland. I do not know whether this also applies to websites hosted abroad that serve the Irish market.
If you intend to start a betting site aimed at the US market, you should subsequently avoid going there on holiday. Online gambling is illegal in many states and those who operate such sites are liable to be arrested upon arrival. This has happened to a number of operators recently.
This acts stipulates in unambiguous terms that all public websites (civil service and semi-state) must be accessible to persons with disabilities who use assistive technologies. This has a clear impact on the following elements of website management:
The purpose of these acts is to ensure that no-one is discriminated against because of personal circumstances, e.g. race, religion, disability. These have a similar impact to the Disability Act:
This act places a duty on the state (civil service and semi-state) to provide public services in the Irish language. Similar to accessibility, this act has big implications for the following areas of website development:
For the purpose of information, sources for the above regulations include:
Find out how to integrate legal constraints into a set of general development guidelines in this article about Website Standards.
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