Web Sites must conform to current legislation

With the ever increasing demand on websites and the call for legislation to improve security and privacy, there are currently many legal requirements which must be adhered to if you own or run an online presence.
Whilst it is the ultimate responsibility of the owner to ensure these regulations comply CNB.co.uk Limited will provide advice and assistance.

We can provide an insight into the minimum requirements under current legislation.
The following are links to information regarding these regulations:
The Data Protection Act 1998
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations
Accessibility - The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)
E-Commerce Regulations 2002

 

 

 

Business web sites MUST comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.

If you have an online presence and you collect or store information from prospective clients then you must apply for registration under The Data Protection Act 1998.
This applies to companies and businesses that collect and store e-mail addresses via an enquiry form or personal information for the purpose of supplying goods or services.
Registration is inexpensive, but please ENSURE you only use the Government Web Site listed below for the registration process.

Data Protection Act 1998

 

 

 

Web Sites MUST conform to this legislation introduced on 11th December 2003

If you have an online presence and you collect or store information from prospective clients/other users then you must disclose certain information on your web site in the form of a Privacy Policy.

In General:

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

 

 

 

Accessibility - The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

 

Business websites MUST conform to this legislation.

If you have an online business presence then your website must be accessible to disabled people.

 

In General:

 

Companies must ensure that their business websites can be accessed by disabled users.
If you supply goods or services, disabled users, including the partially sighted and the blind, using special technology, must be able to view/read the pages within the website.
Any business with websites that are "not seen to be complying with the current regulations" are liable to prosecution and heavy fines.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
BBC Websites 'failing' disabled users

 

 

 

 

Summary and Background

 

On the 21 August 2002 the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2013) transposed into UK law the majority of the provisions of the Electronic Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC), on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (“the Electronic Commerce Directive”).

Regulation 16 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 came into force on the 23 October 2002. They extend the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) Regulations 2001 to include the consumer protection elements of the E-Commerce Regulations. This as now been subsumed into Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002, which provides the Office of Fair Trading or other named consumer protection bodies to make applications to the courts for “enforcement orders” to restrain persons from conduct infringing provisions of domestic and European consumer protection legislation. The courts will also be able to order businesses and service providers to publish corrective statements with a view to eliminating the continuing effects of past infringements.

HM- Treasury implemented separately the requirements of the E-Commerce Directive for the financial services sector.
The key features of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 are:

Online selling and advertising is subject to the laws of the UK if the trader is established in the UK. Online services provided from other Member States may not be restricted. There are exceptions, particularly for contracts with consumers and the freedom of parties to choose the applicable law;

Recipients of online services must be given clearly defined information about the trader, the nature of commercial communications (i.e. e-mails) and how to complete an online transaction;

Online service providers are exempt from liability for the content that they convey or store in specified circumstances; and
Changes to the powers of enforcement authorities such as Trading Standards Departments and the Office of Fair Trading.

Businesses who conduct business online should also be aware of the requirements placed on them by the Distance Selling Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No. 2334), which implemented Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distant contracts.

 

The purpose of the Directive (and therefore the Regulations) is to ensure the free movement of “information society services” across the European Community and to encourage greater use of e-commerce by breaking down barriers across Europe and boost consumer confidence and trust by clarifying the rights and obligations of businesses and consumers.
The E-Commerce Directive was adopted on 8 June 2000 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on the 17 July 2000. The objective was to ensure that information society services benefit from the internal market principles of free movement of services and freedom of establishment, in particular through the principle that they can trade throughout the European Community unrestricted or what is known as the “Country of Origin” rule.

 

The Disability Discrimination Act and a series of legislation such as the Privacy Directive and E-Commerce regulations deal with internet web sites. Regular websites are affected by legislation, and not just interactive sites. CNB offer compliant websites and web development and are pleased to discuss requirements with businesses and organisations.

 

Disability Discrimination Act

 

The Disability Discrimination Act of October 1999 requires that companies and individuals make reasonable adjustments to their websites in order to provide access to the disabled. Most web sites have been in breach of the legislation since that date. The Act applies to all service providers and breach of the legislation means that a claim can be made against the service provider.
The Disability Rights Commission carried out a format study and found that 81% of websites did not meet their lowest accessibility standard despite it being a legal requirement for several years.
CNB develop accessible websites to W3C and DRC specification and assess websites using manual testing, automatic testing, and user testing.

 

Privacy Directive Affects websites using cookies or other tracking devices, and businesses that use email marketing such as newsletters.
E-commerce Regulations The Electronic Commerce Directive Regulations 2002 set out a series of requirements for businesses that advertise or sell online (either B2B or B2C). The regulations specify features which must be provided and information which must be available. E-commerce is also affected by the Distance Selling Regulations.
Data Protection Affects websites that collect personal information or use contact forms.
Advertising Standards Authority Regulations Affects organisations that advertise on the internet
Copyright & Intellectual Property laws