• E-businesses must comply with a wide range of laws.business image by peter Hires Images from Fotolia.com
  
  Like any other business, e-commerce and e-business companies must comply with a wide range of laws. Because e-businesses do most, if not all, of their business online, some laws are more relevant to them than others. E-business owners and workers should be aware of some of these more commonly used laws.
  
  

Advertising

• Advertising on the Internet generally must comply with the Federal Trade Commission's regulations on fair and misleading advertisements. In general, all advertisements must tell the truth, must make only claims that are substantiated, and must not mislead consumers. If the FTC determines that an advertisement has misled consumers and affected their behavior in making a decision about the advertised product or service, the advertiser may be subject to fines or other regulatory actions by the FTC.
  
  

Children

• The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act applies to any operator of a commercial website that directs services to children under 13 or in any way collects personal information from them. Such sites are required to post a privacy policy on their homepage and link to that policy on any page where personal information is collected. These sites must allow parents the choice to consent or refuse in the collection of a child's personal information.
  
  

Copyright

• E-commerce typically involves selling goods or services through websites. Because these websites have written words and materials, they can be subject to copyright laws. Any original work of authorship is granted copyright protection immediately upon creation. The creator of the copyrighted material has the right to exclusive use of their creation. Anyone using their creation contrary to the creator's wishes can face legal consequences.
  
  

Trademarks

• Similar to copyright protections, trademark rights grant the owner the exclusive use of any distinctive name, sign, logo or any similar combination that identifies the company or product. Using a trademarked name or other property on a website at without consent of the owner can result in adverse legal consequences.
  
  

Zoning

• Each state and local municipal organization can set its own laws and regulations regarding zoning. Zoning laws generally restrict or govern how land can be used. These laws can vary widely from state to state and from city to city, but generally restrict or categorize land use in one of five categories: residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, or agricultural or rural. E-commerce, depending on the size and extent of the business, may be subject to zoning laws in any of these areas. For example, a single person operating an e-commerce site out of her home would have to comply with any residential zoning restrictions. The owner could not hang up a commercial sign, have a lot of traffic, or do anything else in violation of a residential zoning regulation.