As an e-commerce owner, your online store may face harmful digital communications due to cyberbullying or harassment. Unfortunately, this can negatively impact your business reputation and activities. To combat such issues, you can develop preventative measures and policies. Additionally, it is best to understand your rights and obligations under harmful digital communication laws. This article will outline what harmful digital communications are, your rights, and how to handle harmful communications.
What are Harmful Digital Communications?
Harmful digital communications can take many forms, including social media posts and emails. Often, businesses receive harmful communications through online reviews, comments and posts. In this context, harmful digital communications refer to negative online behaviours that can cause harm, such as:
- publishing threatening or offensive material;
- spreading damaging rumours; and
- publishing sensitive personal information.
Digital communications include:
- text messages;
- writing;
- photos;
- recording; and
- any matter communicated electronically.
Suppose your business is the victim of harmful digital communications. If so, you must act quickly to avoid a loss of reputation in the market. Additionally, immediate action can help discourage further defamatory comments about your business.
Handling Negative Reviews
Many businesses receive negative online reviews. How you deal with such issues can impact your reputation and consumers’ perception of your business. Therefore, consider customer feedback and identify gaps in your business. This can allow you to take proactive steps to address potential issues in your business. Furthermore, ensure you respond to reviews by thanking the customer for the comment, apologising and promising to investigate the matter. Doing so can often dispel negative experiences the customer had with your business. Furthermore, it demonstrates that your business appreciates and values the consumer and their experience.
Note that it is illegal to be misleading about your business. Hence, deleting any negative reviews might mislead your consumers. However, harmful digital communication laws will protect your business if the reviews are harmful, abusive or offensive. Reviews that are true or honest opinions based on truth will not be considered defamatory statements.
If you believe a review is harmful, you can begin by asking the social media or review platform to take the review down. Alternatively, you can take legal action. However, be aware that this is a costly and time-consuming process.
Continue reading this article below the formYour Rights
Under harmful digital communication laws, you have ten rights.
If you receive a digital communication that breaches any of your rights, you can submit a complaint to Netsafe. Otherwise, you can apply for a court order against the author. Additionally, you can also ask the author to remove the content while outlining why you believe it is unlawful.
Website Terms of Use
If your business allows user-generated content on its website, your terms of use can outline prohibited and permitted conduct. Often, this can prevent users from posting harmful digital communications that can affect your business relations. Your website terms of use can outline:
- acceptance of terms;
- prohibited conduct;
- permitted conduct;
- limitation of your liability;
- your intellectual property rights;
- reference to your privacy policy; and
- how and when you can amend the terms of use.
Website Terms and Conditions
Your website terms and conditions are another legal agreement you can use to prevent harmful digital communications. This document will govern your relationship with your customers and can also protect both parties.
Often this agreement is placed through a clickwrap agreement. During this, your consumer must first agree to the terms before continuing to your website. This makes it easier to clarify that your consumers did agree to the document’s clauses.
Your terms and conditions can include:
- acceptance of terms;
- payment;
- delivery;
- what you are responsible for;
- what your consumer can and cannot do;
- disclaimers;
- refund policy; and
- intellectual property.
These NZ Website Terms of Use set out the rules for people using your website.
Key Takeaways
When running an online business, you may receive negative comments or reviews. Although this can be upsetting, knowing your rights regarding harmful digital communications is important. Harmful digital communications include offensive and threatening material posted about your business. Identifying which of your online reviews are honest opinions or defamatory comments is important. To prevent defamatory comments, you can draft a website’s terms of use and a website’s terms and conditions. Such legal documents will protect your rights and ensure the appropriate use of your website.
If you need help understanding harmful digital communications, contact our experienced e-commerce lawyers to assist as part of our LegalVision membership. You will have unlimited access to lawyers who can answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today at 0800 005 570 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Harmful digital communications are defamatory comments posted about your business. These can often be abusive, offensive, threatening and cause a loss of reputation.
You can draft website terms of use and website terms and conditions that prevent users from posting defamatory comments on your site.
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