Tools to Protect your New E-Commerce Business from Liability
Are you looking to start up a new e-commerce business? They are a perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to work from home. These types of businesses, like every other kind, come with their own unique set of complications. Like moving products through multiple starts or internationally– then it’s not just the United States laws you need to worry about but international ones. All of these issues are important from the way you handle personal information to how you pack the boxes. It may seem overwhelming– but here are some ways you can help to save yourself from liability and the damage it can do to your e-commerce business.
The ADA Disclaimer
The ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act disclaimer, unfortunately, doesn’t come with any federal guidelines on what it should say to protect an e-commerce business owner from liability. That being said, they are extremely important in making your website accessible to all and keeping your company safe from liability. While you will still need to take the time to make your website accessible, at least having a disclaimer shows a good faith effort. Showing that you are at least working to have those accommodations in place for those in need. We’re hopeful that there will eventually be more federal guidelines as e-commerce becomes more common and popular.
Privacy Policy for a E-Commerce Business
Everybody has a privacy policy, even your doctor’s office these days. One of these policies is a written statement explaining how your company collects, shares, and how it may otherwise use the data it collects from the website traffic. These policies are required by law and without one, your company would be more vulnerable to lawsuits and fines. All of that money can add up pretty quickly if your e-commerce business is a hit. These laws can even become pretty complicated, even more so for online companies as they have to deal with national and sometimes international laws while drafting them. It is oftentimes beneficial for e-commerce business owners to receive help from a skilled legal professional, like the ones we employ here at Thompson Law.
Terms of Use
Terms of Use are legally binding rules that are enforced upon your user base for being given access to your website. If they don’t follow the terms that you’ve set in place, you can have them banned or otherwise blocked from accessing your website in the future. This can be helpful if you have users that are starting issues and chasing away potential customers because of their bad behavior. This also lowers the risk for your company if that bad behavior crosses the line into law-breaking.
Terms of Service
These are not so different from your terms of use, though they allow you to stop providing your products, services, or any other content to those bad actors that are not holding up their end of the agreement for viewing or accessing your products or content. This is usually where you express what customers can expect from your company– in terms of your shipping policies, and satisfaction guarantees – your return, exchange, or refund options should be listed here if you offer them.
If you need further information, look no further than our experts at Thompson Law.