All business owners depend on the internet to grow their business. Maintaining compliance with all relevant governing laws and regulations is one of the most important parts of running a successful online business. That’s an obvious statement, but the truth of that can sometimes be lost in managing your business. But how many business owners are prepared for the legal risks that come along with this growth? This is an important question every business owner needs to be asking. Keeping up with all the latest changes in the law can be difficult. In this article, we’ll look at three legal issues you’ll want to stay on top of as you operate your online marketing business.

3 legal issues every online marketer should know

Just as David Aylor can help people get claims for personal injuries, it’s best for online marketers to hire a lawyer for any legal issues they may have. This saves a lot of resources and keeps online marketers from getting into trouble. Now, let’s look at the three legal issues every online marketer should know about.

1.     Data privacy

In order to provide their services, many internet companies collect information about their users’ browsing habits, interests, and other personal details. This information is often collected by tracking cookies and other tracking technologies embedded in websites or apps. Data privacy is a growing concern for marketers. As consumers become more aware of the value of their personal information, they are more likely to take steps to protect it. Data privacy laws protect individuals from companies collecting and using their personal information without their consent. It’s also important because it gives consumers control over the use of their data and the ability to access, correct, or delete that data if they want.

Law regarding data privacy

The EU implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. The GDPR requires companies that collect personal data to obtain consent from individuals before collecting any information about them. This means they need to let people know why they want their personal information. If a company doesn’t get permission before collecting someone’s data, it could be fined up to 2% of its global annual turnover or €10 million (whichever is higher).

Cloud data storage

Cloud-based storage services have become essential to most businesses’ IT infrastructures. They offer a reliable, cost-effective way to store data and allow companies to access it anywhere at any time. But that convenience comes at a cost: your customers’ data privacy. A recent report found that 79 percent of companies had experienced at least one data breach or leak in a third-party cloud service provider’s infrastructure in the previous 18 months. Another survey by sail point found that 52 percent of companies were unprepared for a breach or leak in a third-party cloud service provider’s infrastructure. In addition to third-party providers, there are concerns about employee misuse of company data stored on their devices. If you use cloud storage, you must be aware of the risks associated with storing personal information on third-party servers and be prepared to take steps to protect your customers’ data.

Mobile data protection

Mobile data protection is a critical aspect of  digital learning. As the digital landscape expands, more and more data is collected and stored. This data includes personal information, location information, and browsing history. Mobile device users are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of exposing their data in this way. They are also becoming more concerned about their privacy and rights over their data. As a result, they are beginning to demand that companies take steps to protect them from third parties collecting their details.

How can you comply?

• Get consent from your customers before collecting their data.
• Create a privacy policy for your website or app that explains how your company or third parties will use user data. (those who work with you on marketing campaigns or website analytics tools)
• Your privacy policy should explain how you protect customer data and what rights people have under those policies.
• Understand what personal information your business should collect and how it should use it.
• Use only the information required for the task, and delete any extra data once it’s no longer needed.

2.     Intellectual property rights

Intellectual property rights are rights given to the creator of a work that is protected by copyright, patent, or trademark law. The creator is the one who gets to decide what happens to his creation. Your business is your intellectual property. You’re investing time, energy, and money into building it. But what happens if someone else tries to copy it? The answer depends on several factors, including the type of intellectual property involved, the nature of your business, and what you did to protect yourself. Intellectual property rights, or IP rights, are legally enforceable rights to intangible assets. These include:

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement occurs when someone makes copies of protected works without permission from the copyright owners. It also occurs when someone distributes copies of protected works without permission from the copyright owners. Copyright owners have several ways to enforce their rights against those who infringe on these rights. While commercial use of copyrighted material is generally allowed under certain circumstances (e.g., fair use), unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted works is illegal unless the copyright owner grants permission.

Trademark

A trademark is any word, symbol, or design used to identify a product or service. The purpose of trademarks is to allow consumers to distinguish between products and services from different companies. For example, the Apple logo is instantly recognizable as a symbol for Apple products. A trademark can be used in many ways: on labels, packaging, and advertisements, as well as online through websites, social media accounts, and emails. Intellectual property laws vary from country to country, but they all have similar goals:

• To encourage innovation by protecting the creators of new ideas from having their work stolen by others before they can profit from it.
• To encourage creativity by ensuring that someone who invents something gets to keep their invention for a time before others copy it.
• To ensure that people who create something based on someone else’s idea (or information) are not held responsible for infringing on someone else’s intellectual property rights if their work does not get stolen.

How can you comply?

When creating content, you must keep your intellectual property rights in mind. The following are some tips on how to comply with intellectual property rights:

• Register your domain name as a trademark
• Do not copy someone else’s content and pass it off as your own. This is called “plagiarism” and is illegal.
• Copyright your content
• Brand your website or blog
• Avoid using photos that are copyrighted by someone else without their permission.

3.     Advertising

Advertising is one of the most important parts of any business. It’s how you let people know about your products and services  like creating websites with good landing pages  for you digital advertisement of the product and services .. A key legal issue for online marketers is knowing when and where they can advertise their products or services. This is especially true if you’re running a paid search campaign. According to the  Helena Zimmer digital marketing expert at littlelittlesteps When you advertise on the internet, you must follow the rules and regulations that apply to your industry. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces truth-in-advertising laws and requires companies to disclose their material connections to products and services they endorse. The FTC also regulates paid endorsements from social media influencers. If you are an online marketer, you must be aware of these rules so that you don’t run afoul of them or face penalties if they’re violated. The FTC also enforces the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which protects the privacy of children under 13. This law requires websites to post clear privacy policies and refrain from collecting personally identifiable information about children without parental consent.

Anti-spam law

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 requires commercial email messages to include a physical address. It provides an opt-out option for every recipient who does not wish to receive future email messages from that sender. The law also prohibits deceptive subject lines, misleading headers, and emails to people who haven’t agreed to receive them. If you send bulk emails through an online service provider (a practice known as “spamming”), you must comply with its terms of service. These terms often prohibit or severely limit spamming activities. You could also be liable if you send unsolicited ads violating these terms.

How can you comply?

To ensure that you comply with the spam laws, you must be aware of their provisions and how they affect your business. Here are some guidelines on how to do so:

• Know what constitutes spam under the law
• Make sure you have the consent of all recipients.
• Follow the opt-in procedure when collecting email addresses.
• Ensure your email content complies with regulations

Conclusion

The bottom line is that websites are responsible for what they publish on their sites. Therefore, if you’re an online marketer and create a link on your site to another website, make sure you do so per the law. If you don’t, you might find yourself facing unwelcome legal consequences. Of course, some exceptions exist to what can and cannot be linked to (and from) your website or social media. But a little research into the law is always advisable whenever you plan such linking practices. Author Bio: Aabhas Vijay Aabhas is the founder of Avija Digital a complete digital PR agency for online Strategy and Marketing, Expert in providing consultation as a content strategist for SaaS and tech brands. He begun his career in digital marketing in 2016, which continues to this day. He spends his free time in the gym, playing board games, and learning new technologies in IT sector.