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E-commerce - Computer crime & website terms & conditions

United Kingdom
13/12/2000
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Below we continue our regular update on e-commerce questions and answers.

1. Computer crime - what are the offences?

The Computer Mis-Use Act 1990 (the "Act") makes it a criminal offence to gain unauthorised access to computer systems. A person is guilty of an offence if he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer. The Act clearly covers hacking, but may have other applications including industrial espionage. It is punishable by up to 6 month's imprisonment. Unauthorised access may also incur civil liabilities such as breach of confidential information. Other actions in relation to computers and websites may also attract criminal penalties to the same extent as they would in a non-computer environment.

2. What legal terms and conditions should I include on my website?

As you may have already realised a broad variety of legal issues are at work on the internet and it is highly advisable to include some legal notices on websites. The nature of the notices will depend on the content of the website and the uses to which it is put. For example, a purely brochureware website will require minimal copyright notices and liability disclaimers but an interactive site or one providing goods or services to consumers or other businesses will require more detailed and specialised terms and conditions.

If you have any queries about these questions and answers, please contact John Armstrong by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone on +44 (0)20 7367 2701.

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