At the Law Office of S. Grynwajc, PLLC, we act as your Internet Lawyer. That phrase is sometimes met with confused looks – what exactly does an Internet Lawyer do? While a family lawyer in New York will seek to advise your family based upon the statutes of their state and nation, the internet is without borders. An Internet Lawyer advises their client on how to comply with all laws that apply to the internet, which cover multiple jurisdictions and considerations.
When companies provide their services online to a global audience, such as via a Software as a Service model or through a mobile app that is downloadable from various iOS and Android app stores, they are subject to the laws of every country in which they provide those services and their consumers are based. This is true even if the company has a Terms of Use page which states that only the courts of California shall have jurisdiction and only California laws shall govern. When you deal with consumers, you can’t waive the application of foreign consumer laws in the countries in which your services are available.
The particular issues which Internet Lawyers engage with most often are issues around Privacy and Data Security, Marketing, and Intellectual Property. For Privacy and Data Security, most companies that exist online host or otherwise collect and process personal data from their consumers and visitors around the world. This means that their internal controls around the protection and security of the data they process must be effective and comply with the laws in every country in which they do business, including the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Protection Act.
On the Marketing and Intellectual Property front, there are a wide range of considerations. If your company uses social media to do business, you have to comply with each platform’s Terms of Use, as well as applicable direct marketing laws around the globe. If your service allows consumers to post User Generated Content, their content may infringe on a third party’s rights. If a copyright infringement claim has been raised about any content on your service, you must take it down in order to be protected by section 230 of the Stored Communications Act as a website operator in the United States.
The job of an Internet Lawyer is to advise their clients on how to comply with all applicable laws associated with doing business on the internet, whatever the media used, whatever the jurisdictions in which they offer their online services. This involves Privacy and Data Security and Marketing and Intellectual Property law, as well as social media law, communications law, consumer laws, online contracting, and international law. Understanding the interplay between all of these facets and how they relate to your business is the job of an Internet Lawyer.
The Law Office of S. Grynwajc’s founder’s multiple qualifications as a lawyer in Europe, the UK, the US, and Canada particularly help when advising businesses on their online activities without the borders which a brick and mortar business would typically have. Our particular expertise in consumer laws, privacy laws, social media laws, marketing laws, and online contracting across jurisdictions can prove particularly valuable for United States-based companies offering their products and services internationally via an online platform. If you would like to speak with a U.S. and international Internet Lawyer, contact the Law Office of S. Grynwajc today. We believe in thinking globally and acting locally with a digital focus.