Responsibility & Liability

If it's not my words and it's on my website, is it my responsibility?

[SuperNovaCain]

Let's say I have a commercial site where clients pay to post personal advertising. (In Canada)
I am the sole owner, operator, chief cook and bottle washer. There are no other employees.

I have clearly posted "Terms of Service" and "Limitation of Liability" policies, and require people to "agree" to these policies before activating their accounts.
I employ pre-post, profanity filters, etc...
I have a "reporting" system where ppl can rat on offenders, etc...
Generally speaking, I have standardized on a series of procedures that attempt to keep all published material as legitimate as is reasonably possible (without personally, manually reviewing and approving each post).

What happens if someone slips something past all my check-stops and publishes something racial, or illegal, or infringing on copyright, or plagarism, etc...

Could I be held legally liable for that content? (Even when my site policy is that I will remove offensive/illegal content on request?)

If this has been answered properly elsewhere, please help point me in the right direction...
The "Site Search" link gives me no such thing and always sends me to
[webmasterworld.com...]

[twist]

Just record the IP of the poster and if you ever get in the kind of trouble where you end up in court or something then show them accurate logs and tracking and they'll probably leave you alone.

[SuperNovaCain]

Thanks twist

Well, I have even more than that too...
I have verified financial connections to every account that posts anything. (I also have a clause about "password confidentiality" and "the owner is responsible for any activity generated on their account", etc...) My question isn't about "tracking down" whomever originates this hypothetical offensive or illegal material.

I don't think that there's any question about my intent nor are there any holes in how I conduct maintenance within the site.

I'm concerned about some troublemaker, finding someone selling... say... elephant tusks (or something contraband/illegal) and then somehow trying to rope me into a ring of conspirators who are "assisting" the poster. (Guilt by association, or endorsing anothers actions by permitting them to post, or whatever)

Can this happen?

I'm certain if I ask a lawyer, they will tell me I need more legal disclaimers and mumbo jumbo.
If I ask an insurance company, they will certainly insisit that I need some sort of extra business coverage.

I suppose my real question is, is the insurance necessary? Can someone answer from actual business experience?

Thanks again

[johntabita]

Here in the US, two things can happen in this type of situation:

1. The Federal Trade Commission can hold ad agencies, web designers and copywriters liable if they should have reasonably known the ad or copy's claims were false, misleading, illegal, etc.

2. Under the terms of The Digital Millenium Copyright Act, web hosting providers can be liable for copyright infringment, if the legitimate copyright holder files a complaint with the host and the host fails to remove the infringing material.

I suggest you start with whatever government agency regulates federal trade in Canada and look into Canadian copyright infringment laws relating to service providers such as web hosts. You should find this readily available on the web.

[ypsites]

You might also look into E&O type insurance ... it's standard for publishers offline, and I think getting to be for online, and it's not supposed to be that expensive ... (I've been meaning to check into it myself, I just haven't had time! -- or I could share what I was quoted cost-wise).

[SuperNovaCain]

Thanks for the input guys.

I guess I'm just at the begining of some research.

SuperNĪvaCain

[andye]

Normal industry practise is 'notice and takedown' - google for this term to get more details.

hth, a.