As the number of people across the world using the internet continues to grow, the risks of privacy violations and data breaches are also increasing. Tracing other people using their available online information has become so easy nowadays. Additionally, data breaches have become commonplace, and they pose some of the most harmful threats to internet users. However, there are different internet laws in place that help protect the interests of online users. Here are surprising facts about internet laws that you need to know about.
Why Internet law?
Internet law is the legislation designed to guide the use of the internet by different people in all forms. One striking aspect of internet law is that it is closely related to other laws that pertain to offline information handling and data protection. The most interesting fact about the internet is that it is a global platform. This means that no single government can enforce various laws governing the web. Additionally, no single law can enforce internet privacy protection. The following are some of the common internet laws designed to protect the interests of many users.
Trademark Laws
A trademark distinguishes one brand from the other, creating a unique identity for different companies and products. In most cases, brands perform better when they leave no chance for other companies to copy their original ideas. This is considered brand infringement since trademark laws help protect businesses and their products again such unethical practices. As explained by the experts at Revision Legal, when trademark infringements occur, your company’s position within the marketplace and its entire marketing strategy can be compromised. Trademark infringement usually confuses the customers, but you have a legal right to pursue legal action. You need to consult your lawyer before you file a lawsuit following a violation of your trademark to build a strong case.
Patent Laws
Patent laws include licensing your patent to third-parties to protect individual inventions. This means that the patent holder should not infringe the agreement, or else they will face litigation. All patents should be aligned with business goals, and they should reflect the interests of the original brand.
Copyright Laws
Violations of Intellectual property (IP) are common since any information is accessible from the internet. IP is protected by copyright laws that make it a criminal offense to use other people’s ideas without authorization. The law protects your rights to media, content, and other works you created. Therefore, organizations are encouraged to use the appropriate trademark and copyright notices on their sites to show ownership of the material. They must also register their domain names.
Other Internet Laws
The federal and state governments continue to make strides in protecting the internet users’ privacy, but there is no single law yet that offers comprehensive protection. The users rely on a combination of other laws that include the following:
- The Electronic Communications Privacy Act- protects conversations during wire communications
- Financial Modernization Act- compels financial institutions to protect client information
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act- protects minors against disclosure of their information without parental consent
- General Data Protection Regulation- protects users’ data privacy
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act– protect patient information
Implementation of Online Privacy Laws
According to studies, many internet users have expressed dissatisfaction with the current cybersecurity laws and their implementation. On the other hand, many countries do not have laws to secure data and protect privacy. It is high time that social media platforms are compelled to abide by cybersecurity laws. The other issue relates to determining the prosecution of internet offenses since it is hard to enforce rules when all countries using the internet also have different regulations.
Social Media and Privacy Protection
The advent of social media has made the protection of privacy more difficult as the users can access any information they want from these platforms. While many people are aware that posting personal information on social media limits their privacy, they continue using different sites. If you have many social media accounts, companies and other individuals can use data tracking to discover your preferences. Therefore, it becomes challenging to hold someone liable for a data breach over the information accessed from different social media.
As the number of internet users continues to grow, the threats to privacy and intellectual property are also increasing. Data breaches are common, and they lead to huge losses, both monetary and otherwise. However, the good thing is that different internet laws are tailored to protect the interests of different users. Nonetheless, there is no single government that can control these laws and regulations given that the internet has no physical boundaries, so you must do all you can to protect your rights when surfing the web.
