Red Tape Busters Volume 8, Issue 10, `Website Compliance’
CRIMSON CRABS TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Welcome to the July edition of Crab Insight
“There’s an old African proverb that says “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” “ Al Gore
The first of August is the tenth anniversary of Crimson Crab’s formation as a limited company. We are delighted to be celebrating a decade in business. We’ve had some ups and downs over the years and we most certainly would not be celebrating if it were not for the support we have enjoyed from our customers and clients, the Reputation Advocates, our suppliers, and our friends. We have made some great friendships through Crimson Crab and as we say about the F2 Business Huddle “there are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet”. So as Crimson Crab moves into its second-decade lookout for some exciting announcements about the future. In the meantime look after your reputation. If as a business owner you need assistance getting back on top this month especially with Covid Secure Workplaces please take a look at:
Our focus in July is website compliance. Data Protection forms a pivotal part of website compliance and if you need help please do take a look at our solutions:
Claudia Crab’s July Focus
“Website Compliance”
“Your website is the shop window to your business and the world can look in. So too can the regulators.” Robert Briggs DTS compliance specialist.
There are certain things that all websites need to take into account to be legally compliant:
- Data protection – dealing with all personal data collected, think contact forms, registrations etc.
- Cookies – telling users about cookies used and their purpose and obtaining informed consent
- Disclosure – letting people know who they are dealing with without hiding behind a business or trading name and for registered businesses full disclosure
- Disability discrimination – disabled people including Blind people must not be discriminated against. Businesses must make reasonable adjustments to help disabled individuals access their goods, facilities and services which will mean making their website accessible.
There are additional requirements for online sales to consumers or end-users – (retail):
- General trading legislation – for example, no unfair commercial practices, rules about the sales of age-sensitive products (e.g. alcohol, knives, solvents, videos & games), sales of products to which safety legislation applies, rules around food businesses, etc
- Consumer Contracts Regulations – the regulations specify the way that cooling-off periods for online sales are given and detail requirements about the provision of information.
- Card payments – there is a prohibition of additional charges for using such payment methods.
- Complaints – there are rules set out by the Consumer Rights Act around the way that complaints are dealt with and the provision of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and access to the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution Platform.
Although not a legal requirement there are some things that we would strongly recommend are included on a website:
- Terms of website use – Protect your website and its users with clear and fair website terms and conditions, governing the use of the website and setting out the legal rights and obligations between the owner and users. Key issues such as acceptable use, privacy, registration and passwords, intellectual property, links to other sites, termination and disclaimers of responsibility should be included.
- Copyright – make sure there is a notice (using the name of the legal entity, not the business/trading name) to protect your intellectual property. It won’t stop unscrupulous people from stealing your IP but it will make it easier to do something about it. Don’t forget to respect others’ intellectual property or serious consequences may result.
- Provision of Services – The regulations say that if you are providing services (on or offline) the disclosure of certain specified information is required. A website is an ideal place for this information.
So our big question this month is:
How do I know if my company’s website is legally compliant?
Reputation Advocates
This months featured Reputation Advocate