Watch Out! Your Web Site Links Could Get You Sued

We seem to be a litigation-happy society these days, but that is hardly news. Except when it seems individuals and companies are being sued for linking from their Web sites, to those of other companies or public institutions, as reported on Slate this week.

While this story points to the threshold on filing a lawsuit can be rather low, it should remind all of us to carefully consider our Web policies and standards, and employ them not only as a method to encourage good organizational behavior and consistently-looking sites, but rather to leverage them to mitigate risks associated with having a site.

Many organizations that we work with have a policy, whether written or informal, on linking to external sites. The federal government is usually better about spelling out detailed standards on this topic (EPA for example or the interagency site USA.gov ), but on the whole we find that organizations see this as a one-time-activity, rather than the continual evaluation of risks brought about by activities on the organization’s Web site.  

It might seem far-fetched that someone will sue your organization simply for linking to them. But as the Slate article clearly demonstrates, not only can it happen, but also that it is happening.  It might seem far-fetched that someone will sue you because your content is not accessible to those with disabilities.  But just ask Target; they settled a $6 million lawsuit over the matter last year.

My advice is to institutionalize a risk-assessment process and formalize it by squarely placing the responsibility on the shoulders of the policy team.  Challenge management and colleagues to engage in a discussion of what the true risks are of having a site, and the hazards associated with your behavior on that site. It takes only but a minute to unleash a link or a piece of content into the Web universe, and even less time for a search engine to find it.  If you are having a hard time starting the dialogue, or you don’t see any pitfalls with what you are placing on your site, call up your legal department. Their minds are wired to think about and mitigate risks, and they are likely to have some interesting opinions for you. If they seem stuck, ask them about your Web Records Management Policy and e-discovery. The mere mention is likely to have you scheduling a follow-up meeting.

And for those asking, or looking to, see what other organizations are doing and mirror that behavior – take note! It is tempting to review other organization’s Web policies and adopt them as our own. But that is just as good of an idea of applying a marketing plan from a shoe manufacturer to your restaurant business.  Unless you enjoy seeing running shoes on the appetizer menu, don’t do it, because it doesn’t work.

Lawsuits will continue, that I know. But here's to hoping your organization adopts sound Web policies, and your site won’t be the cause of the next case we read about in Slate.