Question
It seems like there are big differences between the legal requirements of different countries for websites, like legal info/imprint, terms & conditions, privacy declarations, pricing/tax and so on. Since we have customers from several different countries, do we need to
1) adapt our different local versions of the same website (like the German one, the UK one, the US one) to each national law, or
2) adopt the most restrictive requirements, or
3) just do what is required at our business residence?
Can we be sued in countries in which we don't comply with the requirements but people use our website?
Answers: 1 public & 0 private
If you are operating in the U.S. – your principal place of business is here, you bank here, you have assets here, etc – your primary concern will be to ensure your risk is minimized by complying with applicable local, state, and federal laws. It is important to note that there is a distinction between requirements a national entity may have (e.g., violations of which make you subject to civil or criminal penalties) and legal requirements the violations of which create private rights of action (e.g., a user may have a claim against you). Without knowing more specific facts about your business, we are left speculating as to what foreign problem may arise based on your sales of goods or services in such countries, however, tax treatments and user information disclosure activity will be areas of particular concern.
Generally, however, your Terms of Service, Privacy Policy incorporated therein, and other instruments (e.g., subscription agreement, if separable from the ToS) will form the contract(s) between you and your users. Your legal risk will first reside where you, your business, and the assets thereof are reachable (i.e., where you reside). Hence, your primary concern will be ensuring your instruments comply with your and other state subscription disclosure laws (if necessary) and others laws, for example, Cal. Bus. Prof. Code s 22575. Of course, you want to ensure that your business practices in a particularly-important jurisdiction also do not create legal risks, so for those foreign jurisdictions you should consult local counsel.
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