An Internet disclaimer is a statement on a website that limits the legal liability of the website’s owners. It may be required as a user agreement or an all-purpose disclaimer. However, it does not guarantee protection from lawsuits, and its language can vary. Consultation with an attorney is recommended.
An Internet disclaimer is a statement posted on a website that attempts to limit the legal liability a website’s owners may have for providing certain information or materials on that site. Some websites include an Internet disclaimer as a user agreement and require people to click a box indicating that the user accepts the disclaimer before allowing access to a site. Other websites may not require people to specifically agree to a terms of use statement. Instead, these sites post an all-purpose Internet disclaimer as a means of notifying you that the site is limiting its liability.
If a person visits a website and uses the information, materials, or even software provided by the site, the website owners could be liable for any resulting injury or loss. You could file a lawsuit against the website owners to try to recover damages; proving damage is another matter altogether. The person would also have to overcome the hurdle of an Internet disclaimer.
However, an Internet disclaimer does not guarantee that website owners will avoid liability. Each jurisdiction has unique laws. Laws that apply to a specific jurisdiction may not allow courts to enforce the language contained in a particular disclaimer. Another jurisdiction may provide full enforcement of a disclaimer and not allow a person to recover damages as long as the website has provided a disclaimer.
This type of disclaimer can discourage users from filing a lawsuit. They may feel that agreeing to use a website that requires acceptance of the provisions of an Internet disclaimer prevents them from taking legal action against the site. The disclaimer, however, does not necessarily provide website owners with absolute protection from lawsuits. If the terms of a disclaimer are overly broad, a court can declare it invalid and refuse to enforce its provisions.
In addition to whether or not you must comply with a terms of use agreement, the language in an Internet disclaimer can vary. Some disclaimers are short, simple, and easy to understand. Others can be lengthy, filled with legal jargon, and difficult to process. Despite the language of a disclaimer, the goal is the same, which is to limit the potential damages a court could force a website to pay in the event of an alleged type of damage. A person suffering an injury or loss can consult an attorney to determine whether a particular jurisdiction is willing to hold a website liable despite a disclaimer.
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