Online Regulations - Your Website and the Law

It’s not only large businesses that need to use caution. In 2005, a New Zealand restaurant was fined $3,000 plus court costs following a breach of New Zealand’s Fair Trading laws. This arose from a lack of action taken by the owner to correct various misrepresentations on the restaurant’s website about the availability and price of certain meals on the menu.

The ACCC has advised businesses advertising on the internet to carefully and systematically weed outdated material from their websites. The potential reach of any misleading information means that it is not enough for a website operator to claim that it did not have time to update its website, or that it did not have the technical knowledge to do so.

As with anything electronic, websites can develop problems. If you are not technically savvy and your website is an important part of your business, then you should enter into a website maintenance agreement. This would usually be with the website designer, or a similarly qualified third party. A periodic review of the content, as well as checking that all links and structure are correctly operating, can help maintain a professional image and continued customer satisfaction, as well as minimising the risk of complaints.

Legal Questions about your Website

The type of industry you operate in may necessitate the inclusion of certain information on your website. The requirements imposed upon your business are also likely to apply to your internet presence. If you’re unsure how to manage or implement these requirements, you should seek suitable professional advice.

If applicable, you need to consider if there are any terms and conditions you require your online customers to agree to. When contracting online, the fundamentals of offer and acceptance should be set out to ensure you don’t bind yourself to a contract you can’t fulfil. It would be unfortunate to find yourself in the position of having a binding contract to sell one hundred plasma televisions for $500 each instead of $5,000 each simply because of a typo on your website.

Your obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 and related legislation also need some thought. These don’t disappear simply because you are dealing with information online. To minimise the risks when you start conducting your business online, you should meet with your lawyer, or other professional adviser, and consider these fundamentals as part of your early planning.

An online presence can be an exceptionally cost effective and lucrative way of operating your business. A real issue, however, is the often carefree attitude with which some businesses approach their online operations. The internet is not a lawless territory where anything goes, it’s often the case that what needs consideration in the ‘real world’ needs equal, if not more, attention when the internet is used.

A website operator should ask themselves the following when establishing and operating a website:

•    Have I checked that I can use that domain name?

•    Do I own the rights in the website design and content?

•    Have I chosen the right ISP to host my website and meet my business needs?

•    Am I being diligent in keeping my website content accurate and up-to-date?

•    Am I able to make changes to my website as and when required?

•    Is my website set up and structured to adequately cover both statutory and other legal obligations imposed upon my business?

•    Does my website contain the necessary content to complement and reflect my business model?

•    Have I discussed my needs, obligations and requirements with my professional advisers?

If you can answer yes to all of the above then you are well on your way to a happy, healthy, online presence. Now you just need to work out how you are going to attract visitors to your website.  

* Michael Sutton is an associate of Dibbs Abbott Stillman lawyers, Sydney.