Fill and Sign the 16 Form Web Site Update Checklist

2.16 Form: Web Site Update Checklist Web site notices, privacy policies, licenses and other legally related materials should be periodically reviewed and updated using a checklist of items such as those listed below.¥ Update Copyright Notices. Most Web sites include copyright notices on their home pages. Although copyright common law will provide some protection for content simply posted on one's Web site, a more formal notice is recommended. Moreover, if the Web site includes downloadable or printable content, the site should be checked to see if the downloaded and printed output contains correct copyright information. Also, if the content on the site has been updated, the copyright notice should reflect both the original and updated creation dates. ¥ Review Designated Agent Filings. If the Web site operator controls or operates a system or network to which users can store, post or transmit content, e.g., an ISP, a university providing Web hosting services to its students, or a Web site permitting users to post information, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 provides a safe harbor from law suits in the event that a third party claims that such content infringes its copyright or that the service refers or links users to an online location containing infringing material or infringing activity. See 17 U.S.C. ¤ 512(c)(2)(A) & (B). However, to invoke the safe harbor, the service provider must (1) identify on its Web site in a place accessible to the public and provide to the Copyright Office, substantially the following information: (a) the name, address, phone number, and electronic mail address of the agent; and (b) other contact information that the Register of Copyrights may deem appropriate. The Copyright Office's Interim regulation detailing its filing requirements, see 63 Fed. Reg. 59233, is available at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/fedreg/1998/63fr59233.pdf. Both the information on the Web site and the Copyright Office filing should be checked regularly for accuracy and updated as necessary. ¥ Verify Licenses to Use Third Party Content. If the site includes third party content, ensure that existing content is properly licensed for electronic distribution. Since Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, Inc. 244 F.3d 1267 (11th Cir. 2001) and New York Times Co., Inc. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483, 121 S.Ct. 2381, 150 L.Ed.2d 500 (2001), rights to republish content electronically are not automatically granted when an author conveys the right to publish in hard copy form. ¥ Does the Site Include Up-to-Date Disclaimers, Warnings and Filters? Absent a filtering mechanism, a Web site may allow the entire world to cross its electronic threshold. If the site sells goods or services that are regulated or for sale only to adults, or prohibited or controlled in certain jurisdictions, the site should so state. Consideration should be given to filtering out any users with whom the Web site owner should not do business, such as children, residents of states in which certain products may be regulated or prohibited, or certain foreign residents. ¥ Check Links Out. Stale links, e.g., those that link to no longer existing Web sites are merely an annoyance. Incorrect links, e.g., active links that link to incorrect or unintended destinations, can be annoying or embarrassing. Even minor typographical errors in links should be corrected, as "typosquatters" have been quick to register close misspellings of desirable domain names, which may lead to adult Web sites or other Web sites with which the Web site owner might not wish to be associated. ¥ Check Links In. A Web site (and, by extension, the Web site owner) can be tarnished by links from third party sites of dubious quality or questionable content. Alternatively, the Web site owner might want to prevent links from third party sites that utilize the owner's trademark without permission, or that aggregate the owner's logo with a competitor's. Or, the owner may want to prevent links that "deep link" into its Web site, by-passing the Web site home page and increasing the potential that Web site content will be mistakenly thought to belong to the originating site or that the Web site will be overlooked. A number of commercial software applications and services are readily available that will, among other things, track unauthorized use of a logo in links and metatags, identify external Web pages linking to a site, and identify sites pirating content. ¥ Verify "Land of OZ" Notices. If a Web site links to or is linked to or from third party sites, users should be alerted when they have entered or exited the Web site via "Land of OZ" notices. This can be accomplished through a variety of means, but the most typical include pop-up dialog boxes warning that the user is leaving the site and that the Web site owner is not responsible for the content, policies or any other element of the destination site. Similarly, the Web site owner may wish to require similar notices from third party sites linking to its site and to specify that any such links direct the user to the owner's site home page so that users have ready access to the site's terms of service (TOS), privacy policy and legal disclaimers. ¥ Do the Web Site TOS and Privacy Policies Reflect the Client's Current Business Model? TOS and privacy policies should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they permit the site owner to function according to the dictates of its business model. All TOS and privacy policies should clearly state that the Web site owner may change the terms of such policies and indicate how such information is to be conveyed to users. The Web site privacy policy should be reviewed alongside the Web site owner's privacy protection practices, to assure that what the privacy policy promises, the Web site owner implements. ¥ Verify COPPA Compliance. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. ¤¤ 6501 et seq., governs the online collection and use of personal and other information requested from and provided by children under the age of thirteen. Both the Act and the implementing regulations adopted by the Federal Trade Commission became effective on April 21, 2000. COPPA requires operators of Web sites and online services that are either directed to children under thirteen or that have actual knowledge that such children are providing information to the operator to provide notice of the information they collect and how they will use such information; to provide parents access to review and change such information and the manner in which it is used; and, with few exceptions, to obtain "verifiable parental consent" before collecting and using certain personal information. Web site content should be reviewed periodically to determine whether the Web site contains content that is likely to attract children and teenagers and thereby bring the site within the coverage of COPPA. If the site is covered by COPPA, information collection practices should be scrutinized to assure that the requirements of the Act are being met. ¥ Verify California Online Privacy Act Compliance, if Applicable. As of this writing, California is the only jurisdiction that requires commercial Web sites to post a privacy policy. As of July 1, 2004, the collection of personally identifiable information from California residents through a Web site or online service for commercial purposes must be done pursuant to a conspicuously posted privacy policy. Cal. Bus & Prof. Code ¤¤ 22575 et seq. The privacy policy must identify the categories of personally identifiable information collected about individuals and must identify the types of third parties with whom the data may be shared. Additionally, if the operator of the site or service maintains a process for individuals to view and request changes to such data, the policy must provide a description of that process. Finally, the policy must describe the process by which the operator will notify consumers of material changes to such privacy policy. An operator will be in violation of this law if it fails to post its privacy policy in accordance with the law within thirty days after being notified of noncompliance, or if it fails to comply with its privacy policy, either knowingly and willfully or negligently and materially.¥ Is the Domain Name Registration Nearing Renewal? Domain name registrations must be renewed periodically. Not all registrars remind domain name holders when it is time to renew. ¥ Review Hosting Agreements. If the Web site is hosted by an ISP, the service agreement should be reviewed to determine whether there is adequate protection in the event of disruptions in service. For example, during the 2002 rolling blackouts in California, many Web sites were unavailable because their ISPs were blacked out. It is prudent to determine whether the ISP has access to uninterruptible power supplies or back-up power generators. In the event that the ISP has resources to support only a portion of its customers, consideration should be given to recommending the inclusion of a service provision that places the sites at the "head of the list" for services.