Legal Questions and Answers

If you are planning to operate in Europe you will need to address the GDPR. The GDPR is a EU regulation that addresses data protection and privacy of EU residents. It provides specific rights for users located in the EU. These rights should be addressed in your privacy policy and contain additional sections and information laid out for EU residents.

If you are planning to operate in California, USA it is recomended to address the CCPA. California is the first state in the US to enact a state statute addressing the privacy rights of the state residents (but it is estimated that other states will follow). The CCPA provides specific rights for users located in CA, those include the right to know what personal data is being collected, whether this data is disclosed or sold to any 3rd party, (and to disagree to the sale), the right to access their personal data, request a deletion of their information, and more. These rights should be addressed in your privacy policy and contain additional sections and information laid out for CA residents.

The Privacy Policy should be located on your website from the moment your website is "up in the air" therefore it is recommended to contact a lawyer to draft it at least 2 weeks prior to the launching of the website. The privacy policy provides information to visitors of the website on the operators of the website collect, use, store and protect the personal data of the visitors. Personal data can be information provided by the users (personal and financial is most common) or information collected automatically such as IP. Each privacy policy should be tailored to the specific website or app. it is being used because the exact content of the privacy policy is dependent upon the function of the site that it relates to, the information it gathered, and how it is being used. An important note about PP is that certain countries and states have specific rules regarding the use of their residence data and those should be addressed in your PP if you are planning to operate in these areas.

Terms of service can be a binding contract (if your terms of service are not binding they are basically useless). In most cases, if a user had actual or constructive notice that the use of the service is subject to the terms of service and the user has accepted the terms of service online then those terms of service will become a contract just as if the user has physically signed it. If however, after signing electronically the user is also required to sign a physical copy to become a customer the physical copy will usually prevail.

Terms of use and terms of service are both legally binding documents that a user must agree to and abide by in order to use your website or service. The main difference is that what is usually called terms of use is intended for any user accessing (visiting) your website. Terms of service will be directed for those who not only visit the website but also choose to purchase (or try if there is a trial period) the service offered. Both documents are similar but each contains unique terms. Because both are legal documents and can be binding if the terms within them are legitimate it is recommended to have a legal professional draft them and tailor those specific terms relevant for your website and/ or service.

I would need to review the agreement to see what it says, what is prohibited. Will need to see the agreement. Generally non competes have a set time frame. Has that time frame already passed? DISCLAIMER The answers to these questions do not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with the attorney and anyone who reviews these responses.