Worry About Internet Law Because . . .

• sending unsolicited emails may subject your company to millions of dollars in fines;
• praising a product without clearly indicating you were paid to do so is a Federal Trade Commission offense;
• failing to have a Document Retention Policy addressing the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure may cause you lose a lawsuit even before it gets to a jury; and
• violating a website's terms of use policy may even land you in federal prison.

 

This is a tiny fraction of the laws regulating online commerce. So, how should a company avoid so many pitfalls?

Cyberlaws breed like rabbits. After a decade of uncontrolled evolution, the expansion of cyberlaws has created a Darwinian pond, so full of complex online laws no company is able track them all. Not knowing the laws makes orchestrating a three-year plan an exercise in futility.

 

Selling your Board of Directors on a costly, time consuming, comprehensive online risk management plan is difficult. Estimating a return on investment based upon the value of not losing the farm is a formidable calculation.

A more palatable way to tackle the problem of online risk is piecemeal. Grab the lowest hanging fruit first. Form a committee to tackle the next most cost effective cyberlaw issue each quarter. Before you realize, (hopefully before you are sued) your company will implement a customized, comprehensive system to address online risk.

 

In upcoming posts, I will, through an equally incongruous mix of metaphors, address issues that are easy to address, but if left unchecked have potential to bring your business to a grinding halt.

Brett Trout

Comments

[sherry borzo]

Thanks for the info Brett even though it has given me a major fear headache! All this stuff about thinking how people may get me is very real I know but such a drag too.

[Brett Trout]

Sherry,

Thanks for the comment. I apologize for the headache. I hope the book and blog inform people about potential online legal risks.

Even if people do not take any specific action in response to potential threats, the very fact of knowing what to look out for should give them a little comfort and allow them to address small problems before they become large ones.

Brett