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9 Feb 2001, UK
Hi Dr Ecommerce:
My question is a bit personal one but I don't mind if you publish it on the website,anyways, I'm planning to start my online business. It is a bit like a communication centre where people can sign-up for email, send SMS, search people by interest and stuff like that. I'll be offering all these services for free. I'm an individual and I'm short of finances. I can't hire a lawyer, but I do realize that this kind of a business will require me to have a privacy policy to build up the confidence of my visitors. My question is what do I really need to know about starting this business? According to what laws should my website operate? And where can I find help regarding this? Currently I'm working alone, although I've finished a contract with a service who'd offer email on my website and I'm talking to a SMS provider, but I'm still a bit scared to really get on the web! please Help!
Syed
Dear Syed:
Your idea sounds interesting and I wish you the best of luck. Oh, and don't be scared. The legislation involved isn't all that horrendous, particularly as you aren't actually selling anything to consumers.
You rightly identified privacy as being the key issue of concern. European Data protection law requires that you...
- Get users' permission before collecting any personal data.
- Inform users of what you will do with their data and how long you will keep it.
- Allow users access to their data.
- Allow users to correct incorrect data.
So, you should make users aware of points one and two before they hit the submit button on any forms - such as to register for any of your services. Ideally, you should also include opt-in/opt-out boxes that users can click to agree to receiving targeted e-mail, newsletters or any other services.
Normally, I think users are willing to part with a reasonable amount of personal data in exchange for value added services. Moreover, I think we have an advantage in Europe in that consumers know that European web sites are bound by data protection laws and so can be better trusted than American web sites which are not subject to data protection laws.
Assuming your business is based in England, then you will be subject to British law.
You can get information on legal issues related to e-commerce from our booklet, Don't Panic Do E-commerce. I also suggest you read a couple of books on the basics of setting up and managing a business in the UK. You should be able to find such books in your local library or bookshop. Most issues related to running a business are the same whether your business is on-line, off-line or a bit of both.
Finally, based on what you have told me, my main concern is where your income will come from. Presumably advertising. In any event, you will want to do some cash-flow analysis to determine how well this will work and what size of a user-base you will need to turn a profit.
Good luck!
Dr. Ecommerce