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Simple Business Web site: Legal Obligations

This lesson is designed to be used in the classroom or as a homework task to support the teaching and learning of Business Web site - Legal Obligations in BTEC Business.

Simple Business Web site: Legal Obligations

This resource is designed specifically for Unit 6 of the Edexcel BTEC qualification, 'Business Online'.

Aim

In this section we examine the legal obligations facing business and educational Web sites. We look at the benefits to users of this legislation and the potential consequences for organisations who fail to take their obligations seriously.

Legal obligations for all business/educational Web sites

 

Accessibility

All UK businesses are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) which makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to other members of the community (full text of the DDA (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm)). Therefore UK businesses (and most countries have similar legislation) must provide Web sites that can be used by a disabled person including any services (online shopping, etc.) made available through that Web site.

In addition the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) established rights for students in pre and post-16 education. Consequently educational institutions are also legally bound to provide accessible Web sites.

In real terms, companies failing to comply with these laws can be sued for unlimited damages. Considering how damaging legal action could be to the finances and reputation of a business it is surprising how many business Web sites remain inaccessible due to poor coding and design. It is also likely that many businesses are unaware of their obligation and have not been accurately advised by the people responsible for their Web site - a good Web developer will be able to advise a business on its legal obligations.

There have been several high-profile legal cases involving Web sites that were not accessible to people with disabilities:

It is widely accepted that the best way to assess the accessibility of a Web site is to use the guidelines and checklist (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-checklist.html) produced by the W3C. The checklist categorises the 'checkpoints' (aspects of the Web site that need to be checked) into three categories:

  • Priority 1 checkpoints - A Web developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups of people will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.
  • Priority 2 checkpoints - A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.
  • Priority 3 checkpoints - A Web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents.

Source: W3C WCAG (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/).

It is generally accepted that satisfying all of the Priority 1 checkpoints is the minimum standard of web accessibility (http://lawzone.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=111970&d=204&h=255&f=209) that may be required to satisfy a business's legal obligations. Rather than go through each checkpoint within the three priority levels as a business might be required to do we will briefly examine two checkpoints from the most basic level (Priority 1) to gain an understanding of the principles:

  • Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element - Priority 1 = Non-text elements include content such as images, animations, video etc. This checkpoint ensures that, for example, if a blind user is accessing the Web site using a text-to-speech (or screen reader) a text description of the non-text elements is read to them. You may remember the alt attribute that is used when inserting images in a page. This provides a text equivalent of the image. If your site only contained text and images adding appropriate alt attributes to all of the HTML code inserting the images would result in you satisfying this checkpoint.
  • Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour - Priority 1 = Take for example:


      Feb Jan
    Forecasted cash flow 2500 4500
    Net cash flow 5000 3500

    Net cash flow below the forecasted value is shown in red.

    Part of the information (the net cash flow falling below the forecasted value) is only conveyed with colour. A colour-blind person or someone viewing the page on a black and white monitor may have difficulty determining this. The correct approach would be:


      Feb Jan
    Forecasted cash flow 2500 4500
    Net cash flow 5000 3500*

    Net cash flow below the forecasted value is shown in red and marked with an asterisk.

    The information is now no longer solely conveyed with colour.

As stated above, in most cases a business will rely on a Web developer (either in-house or external) to advise them on accessibility matters although ignorance of the law or poor advice is no defence.

The best way to assess the accessibility of a Web site is to use the W3C Web Content Accessibility Checklist (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-checklist.html). However, some aspects of Web site accessibility can be checked with automated tools. These tools cannot check all aspects of a Web site, for example they cannot check that a site satisfies this Priority 1 checkpoint "Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.". These automated tools include:

  • The W3C Markup Validation Service - The HTML validator will also highlight missing alt attributes on images and valid Markup is a Priority 2 checkpoint. (http://validator.w3.org/)
  • WAVE - an online tool for assessing accessibility of a Web page. The results indicate actual and possible (see above regarding limitations of these tools) errors. (http://wave.webaim.org/index.jsp)
  • Bobby - another online tool for assessing the accessibility of a Web page. Usage is limited (you can pay for unrestricted usage) so you can only check a few pages at a time. (http://webxact.watchfire.com/)

Other than the legal obligations on a business to make their Web site accessible there are many other reasons why creating an accessible Web site has positive benefits for a business. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that accessible Web sites can be used by all and have increased interoperability (they work on a wide range of Web enabled devices), consequently the potential customer base/reach of the Web site is increased. Accessible Web sites are, in general, more usable and this increase in usability benefits everyone. A further reason to have an accessible Web site is that it demonstrates corporate social responsibility and this positively affects brand image and the reputation of a business. (http://www.bized.co.uk/current/mind/2003_4/290304.htm)

Task 1

Visit the homepage for three Web sites you use regularly (these could be sites your teacher has directed you to or may be Web sites relating to your interests). If you don't regularly use the Web try viewing your school Web site, Biz/ed (http://www.bized.co.uk) and BT (http://www.bt.com). Now answer these questions:

  • Can you find an accessibility/disability access statement on the Web site?
  • How might presence of this statement affect the operation and perception of these organisations to a customer/user?

Personal homepages are exempt from the DDA and SENDA. However, it could be argued that these people have a moral and social obligation to produce accessible Web sites too. In addition the benefits of increased usability and interoperability are just as applicable to a personal Web site as they are to a business Web site.

Further reading on Web accessibility and UK Web accessibility law:

 

Data protection

Rows of paper files

Image: What data might a business Web site gather from its users and what are the implications under the Data Protection Act? Copyright: Markus Warneke, stock.xchng

In the UK the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) gives individuals certain rights to find out what information an organisation holds about them and to ensure that the information is correct.

The legal obligations on a business are that any personal information it holds must be:

  1. Fairly and lawfully processed
  2. Processed for specified purposes
  3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive
  4. Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
  5. Kept for no longer than necessary
  6. Processed in line with the rights of the individual
  7. Kept secure
  8. Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area unless there is adequate protection for the information.

Source: Information Commissioner's Office (http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/eventual.aspx?id=6785&expmovie=1)

Failure to comply with the eight principles above could result in legal action from individuals and the Information Commissioner's Office against the company in question. Any personal data collected through a Web site is also subject to these principles and a business must comply accordingly.

Task 2

Consider the personal information that may be collected from users of a business's online presence. What steps might a business take to meet its obligations under the DPA?

 

Copyright

Copyright is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or assignee, for a fixed number of years to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and authorise others to do the same. Copyright may also be bought, sold, or leased.

Businesses must ensure that its Web site (including content and the design of the site itself) does not infringe an anyone else's copyright. It is a popular myth that content made available on the Web is 'copyright free', this is not the case. In addition, all works are copyrighted as soon as they are created (a © sign does not need to be present).

Many businesses use copyrighted works on their Web sites. However, usually permission has been sought from the copyright holder and if applicable a fee for use paid.

There are some instances when it is permissible to reproduce copyrighted work without permission. These instances include when the work is reproduced for the purposes of 'Comment or Criticism', 'Parody' or reproduction for academic purposes. Use of copyrighted work in this way falls under 'Fair Use'. However, it is important to know that the copyright holder may disagree that the use is 'Fair Use'. If this is the case then the dispute is likely to end up in court and the 'Fair Use' will need to be proven otherwise it is a case of copyright infringement.

Businesses should consult a copyright professional regarding the use of any content for which they do not own the copyright (or have permission to use).

Further reading:

 

Other legal obligations

Other legal obligations that affect both online and conventionally trading businesses include:

An additional source of information is the Office of Fair Trading leaflet on shopping from home. (http://www.oft.gov.uk/Consumer/Your+Rights+When+Shopping+From+Home/default.htm)

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Submitted by bized on Mon, 02/05/2005 - 12:00