When we add more and more functionality and user interactivity into our websites legal concerns start to pop up. We want to make sure we can handle situations when a situation goes bad, that we can do the right thing on our sites, and that we are legally covered when we try to do good. This is especially true with churches where I have recently listened to some legal concerns from church leaders. Let's take a look at some common things we can do.
The Privacy Policy
You often see privacy policies on websites like Google and Facebook. But, they are something that can be put on everything from the large corporate website to the small personal blog. They let people know where we stand and what we are up to.
If you have a lawyer available they are the best place to get this from. They can know your personal situation and can give you something customized to you.
If you don't have one available the folks behind Wordpress.com over at Automattic have put their privacy policy online under a creative commons license for anyone to take, modify, and use it.
The Terms of Service
The terms of service for a site lets people know what the site is up to and how the site is going to handle things like abuse and content people post to your site. This is important if you are going to be taking down someones content for abuse. The terms of service is where you define that, among other things.
Again, it's best if you have a lawyer draw this up. If you don't have one available check out the Terms of Service on Wordpress.com. It was written by lawyers and released under a creative commons license.
Children Under 14
Have you noticed the trend for websites to not let anyone register who is 13 or younger. This isn't to try and protect minors. This has to do with legal issues. In the US, for example, there are laws about collecting information for anyone who is 13 or under without parent or guardian approval.
To avoid this many sites will either ask you for your birthday and not let you register if you are 13 and under or they will have a check box on the registration form asking you to verify that you are 14 or older.
Drupal Legal Module
On the sites I create there are times when I want my users to accept the terms of service before they register for the site. In this case I use the legal module. It enforces accepting the terms of service before someone can register. You can, also, add a check box for someone to check before they register saying they are 14 year old or older.
These are just a few of the legalese features I build into sites where necessary. They are there for some good reasons even if they seem like a hassle. I'm no lawyer so make sure you check with a lawyer before you dive into legalese.
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