Internet Provider

Internet Platorm Providers

The providers of internet platforms, including cloud-based marketing and sales software platforms, we may be subject to potential liability for the activities of their clients on or in connection with the data is stored on the provider servers. Although many customer terms of use prohibit illegal use of the provider services by their customers and permit providers to take down websites or take other appropriate actions for illegal use, clients of the online providers of platforms may nonetheless engage in prohibited activities or upload or store content with the providers in violation of applicable law or the client’s own policies.

In the United States

Several U.S. federal statutes may apply to internet providers with respect to various clients activities:

• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, or DMCA, provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed on the Internet. Under the DMCA, based, for example, on the business activity as an Internet service provider that does not own or control website content posted by their customers, internet providers generally are not liable for infringing content posted by their customers or other third parties, provided that the providers follow the procedures for handling copyright infringement claims set forth in the DMCA. (1)
• The Communications Decency Act of 1996, or CDA, generally protects online service providers, such as us, from liability for certain activities of their customers, such as the posting of defamatory or obscene content, unless the online service provider is participating in the unlawful conduct. Under the CDA, we are generally not responsible for the customer-created content hosted on our servers. Consequently, we do not monitor hosted websites or prescreen the content placed by our customers on their sites. However, the CDA does not apply in foreign jurisdictions and we may nonetheless be brought into disputes between our customers and third parties which would require us to devote management time and resources to resolve such matters and any publicity from such matters could also have an adverse effect on our reputation and therefore our business.
• In addition to the CDA, the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act, or the SPEECH Act, provides a statutory exception to the enforcement by a U.S. court of a foreign judgment for defamation under certain circumstances. Generally, the exception applies if the defamation law applied in the foreign court did not provide at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press as would be provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or by the constitution and law of the state in which the U.S. court is located, or if no finding of defamation would be supported under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or under the constitution and law of the state in which the U.S. court is located. (2)

Although these statutes and case law in the United States, in general, shield internet providers from liability for customer activities to date, court rulings in pending or future litigation may narrow the scope of protection afforded to internet providers under these laws.

Worldwide

Laws governing these activities are unsettled in many international jurisdictions, or may prove difficult or impossible for some internet providers to comply with in some international jurisdictions. Also, notwithstanding the exculpatory language of these bodies of law, internet providers may become involved in complaints and lawsuits.

Other existing bodies of law, including the criminal laws of various states, may be deemed to apply or new statutes or regulations may be adopted in the future.

Resources

Notes

1. Generally, if the internet provider receive a proper notice from, or on behalf, of a copyright owner alleging infringement of copyrighted material located on websites the internet provider host, and the provider fails to expeditiously remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material or otherwise fail to meet the requirements of the safe harbor provided by the DMCA, the copyright owner may seek to impose liability on the provider. Technical mistakes in complying with the detailed DMCA take-down procedures could subject internet providers to liability for copyright infringement.
2. Although the SPEECH Act may protect U.S.-based internet providers from the enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States, it does not affect the enforceability of the judgment in the foreign country that issued the judgment. Given the international presence of many U.S. online companies, they may therefore, nonetheless, have to defend against or comply with any foreign judgments made against such companies.