Hi I am about to start a website but not sure if it would get me in to trouble. Basically I ask questions about different fastfood places and users submit their answers. One for instance would be: Have you found anything bad in your burger? Obviously I cannot help if people post un-true things. Could/Would I get sued even if I state on every page that the opinions submitted may not be 100% legit and are not the opinions of the site owner.
From a legal standpoint you are entitled to your opinion and share your experiences. What you can't do is make statements that aren't justified. If you publish comments which are baseless, you might be vulnerable to a libel action. If you honestly found something in your burger, or have witnessed poor practices from a venue/company, you are well within your right to say so. You can't say "XXXXX makes its burgers out of cats!".... unless they actually do and you know this first hand."I know because someone told me" doesn't carry much weight since, as the publisher, you are the one that is broadcasting these views and you are responsible for the consequences. I'm not sure how much a disclaimer would save you in the event that a company took you to court. Since you are actively encouraging people to post about bad experiences, it could be said that you were intending to damage the reputation of established fast food outlets.Of course, this is completely fine if the posts are true....but can you guarantee it? Perhaps a legal boffin could jump in and comment on this I think the key point to note is that if a company feels you have damaged its reputation which may have resulted in a loss in profits, they may come after you to recoup those losses.If what you say is factual, you will need to be able to prove it in order to win the case.Even if what you publish is true, and they know it, they might throw their legal arsenal at you to prevent the truth surfacing since you probably won't be able to prove its accuracy. All this is worst case scenario, supposing that a company finds your site and decides on action.Perhaps you could use different names for different venues instead of their real names.That way the identitiy of the venue in question is assumed by the reader and not necessarily implied by the publisher Hope this helps
Since many people will be submitting their comments, I don't see any reason for the restaurants to sue you.
Thanks so far the both of you, I REALLY need some more posts on this before I can made a decision. I have looked for some law forums but couldnt find any. I might just add, my site will have a good and bad section question section, so I would not just be asking bad questions about the food places.
You might want to try reading this week's issue and last week's (if they're available) over at AbsoluteWrite.com -- I would swear that this happened to the editor there. Someone on one of her forums said something against a company, and the company rep threatened legal action. Initially the site's web host was understanding, but then caved when the legal threats turned real. You can't technically get in trouble with the law for someone else's opinions, but you can get your website shut down by a web host that is afraid of the big company's lawyers.
I can see where where marriedbliss is coming from. Other peoples' opinions should reflect on them and them alone. However, as a website owner, you are publishing these views to a massive audience. By allowing the views to remain online you are effectively condoning what has been said and providing a gateway from one person to the world. It could be said that you were being very irresponsible publishing damaging comments if you have no idea of their validity. I'm playing devil's advocate here. I personally think people should be able to speak their mind without exception, safe from legal troubles. Since "free speech" is a myth, we all have to be careful. I think the bottom line is... do you want the worry and hassle of a controversial website? If you do attract attention, are you willing/able to enter legal battles to protect your site? Or will you fold under every request to have a comment removed....which will mean all you end up with is a site of positive comments (or more likely ...nothing at all).If lawyers come after your users requesting you give them IP addresses etc....are you going to sell out your users? Good luck
If you do decide to create this site, just be sure to carefully consider and monitor all of the comments that are posted to your web site. As long as you refrain from posting comments that are blatant libel, you should be able to avoid any major legal action.
Thanks a lot unfortunately I dont think Im willing to go through with the site anymore, the chances of a legal battle are quite high and Im definitely not up for it financially and mentally.
I think that is a wise choice.Much better to change direction now and avoid any trouble ...plus... you'll be able to sleep easy at night Did you have other ideas in reserve or is it back to the drawing board now?
Oh believe me I have an idea, a great one as well As for this fast food site, it was only an idea I had, so lucky I didnt waste any time building it.