Wasting money
I have made a commitment to myself as well as those who take the time to read this blog to call out less than honest people (and honest people) who are taking people for a ride.
Many of the people who read this blog are freelance writing people who have done website content for clients. As a writer, I’ve done the same thing. Bloggers who participate in affiliate programs such as Google Adense are required (per the Google TOS) to include a Terms of Service as well as a Privacy Policy on their website or their blog. There are a couple of sites where you can sign up to get these things at very little or no cost or if you’re feeling brave, you can simply take an existing one from any website and re-write it to suit your needs.
Then there is this attorney. I REFUSE to link to his website because I think that it’s awful for most business owners to get taken for a ride. For a MERE $2,788.00 this attorney will prepare the documents you need for your website. There’s a problem though: These documents are NOT yours! This person intends to hold the COPYRIGHT! This is a licensing fee! So much for work for hire huh?
Here’s what his “advertisement” says “The Complete FTC Legal Compliance & Civil Web Site Legal Protection Package License is comprised of 4 documents, a Terms Of Service Contract (TOS ) for your Web site business, a Privacy Policy for your Web site business, an Earnings Disclaimer for your Web site business and a Customized “Disclaimer & Legal Rights” Web Page.”
Then he wants to scare “ordinary internet marketers” into worrying about the big bad boogie men at the FTC by saying this “Why Using The Wrong Attorney Can Be A Costly Mistake … Mrs. Fields Cookies and Hershey’s Chocolate Nabbed By The FTC”. He’s right – these sites WERE fined by the FTC. What he FAILS to tell you is that they KNOWINGLY violated the rules! The FTC rules are very specific regarding disclosing how information is collected and how old a person might be. In 2003, Mrs. Fields Cookies and Hershey’s were fined by the FTC. However, these were very specific violations, namely (from FTC site) “According to the FTC complaints, the Mrs. Fields and Hershey sites each violated the COPPA Rule when they failed to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.” This “rule” does not apply to 99.9% of Internet Marketers! However, this doesn’t mean that your website doesn’t need to include the information that your site isn’t designed for children nor do you knowingly collect information!
Free Privacy Policy is my recommendation for generating a policy for your website or blog that meets the legl requirements. and Free Terms of Service can be found online also. If you are marketing affiliate programs, your affiliate SHOULD provide you earnings disclaimers. In fact, I think that of the thousands I’ve read they are ALL almost identical. If you don’t promote FAKE EARNINGS you have nothing to worry about.
Now if you want to pay someone to create these documents, unless you are running a website or blog where you anticipate getting sued for violations from the FTC, then I recommend hiring a freelancer with a proven track record and asking your attorney (who likely charges less than the $500 per hour this guy charges) to review them for you. I mean seriously. I’m sure this gentleman has good intentions, but for heavens sake, let’s get real.
About Doreen Martel
Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.
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