3 Legal Documents Every Website Needs
LegalVision | December 16, 2016
Operating an online business can be an exciting yet challenging time for any business owner. Every website requires three key legal documents to ensure it complies with obligations to operate online.
These documents are a Privacy Policy, a Website Terms of Use and Business Terms and Conditions.
This article explores the purpose of each of these three legal documents and why your website should have them publicly accessible.
Privacy Policy
A Privacy Policy should explicitly state how information collected through browsing the site is going to be used. A Privacy Policy should comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), whereby the policy sets out the kinds of personal information the website collects, how an individual may complain about a breach of the APPs, and whether the organisation is likely to disclose information to overseas recipients.
Whether you collect cookie data for Google Analytics or send out newsletters, you are required to have a Privacy Policy publicly available. If a visitor is added to a mailing list when they submit a form, a Privacy Policy should be accessible to inform them that their email details will be used. These disclosures are important given that breaching the Privacy Act carries significant fines for corporations.
Website Terms of Use
The purpose of a Website Terms of Use is to set out the actions that a site visitor can and cannot carry out when they access the website. While this will vary from site to site, common terms include:
Copyright of the website material;
Liability disclaimers;
Internal dispute/complaint mechanisms procedures; and
Transaction processes.
These terms should be drafted in a concise manner to protect the business.
Business Terms and Conditions
There are three main types of business terms and conditions. These are services, marketplace and sales terms and conditions. Services Terms and Conditions require a Client Agreement. This document will contain the client’s obligation, the service provision and the nature of the service provided.
For Sales Terms and Conditions, there are five key components, those being:
Refund policy and consumer guarantees;
Terms of payment;
Product description and the method of delivery for these products;
Limited liability terms and disclaimers; and
Dispute resolution mechanisms to avoid litigation.
Marketplace Terms and Conditions include the above, however, are accompanied by their own unique set of issues, such as how user content and intellectual property should be protected in regards to the marketplace goods.
A Privacy Policy, Website Terms of Use and Business Terms and Conditions are essential legal documents for the operation of an online business. These documents should be drafted specifically for your business and industry. While it is easy to copy another website’s terms, this exposes your business to liability and risk (and is a breach of copyright).
