The Risks of User-Supplied Content Online

Abstract

Websites which rely on user-generated or user-supplied content (USC) run a variety of legal risks, as innocent, uninformed or malicious users may post material which infringes copyright, is defamatory, obscene or otherwise illegal. Amongst the strategies which developers might use to mitigate these risks are indemnities, moderation of content and designing systems in order to avail of the various ‘safe harbours’ which have been developed specifically for online service providers. As the first two strategies have a number of legal and practical drawbacks, the primary protection must be the safe harbours. In an increasingly globalised world, it is unsafe to ignore foreign laws and therefore USC sites should employ a robust but measured notice-and-takedown procedure.