Laws About the Internet
The Internet facilitates information, communication and entertainment. Unfortunately, it can also facilitate fraud and other unethical and illegal activities. In an attempt to combat criminal activities on the Internet, Congress has enacted several laws to protect children, intellectual property owners and consumers.
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Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
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The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act protects children under 13 years of age. The COPPA guards against children giving out information about themselves over the Internet. The COPPA prohibits websites from collecting personal information -- such as their names, email addresses, and phone numbers -- from children who are 12 years of age and younger. Under the act, the websites must obtain verifiable parental consent before they can collect information from children under age 13.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
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The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects copyright holders. The DMCA makes it illegal for a website operator to reproduce copyrighted material on the site, such as music and written content. If the copyright owner sees her material reproduced on a website, she can submit a DMCA notice to the website operator. The site operator must then take down the infringing content. The law also provides a means for the entity whose content is removed to protest the removal.
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Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act
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The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act protects individuals and organizations that own U.S. trademark registrations. If someone other than the trademark owner registers an Internet domain name that includes the trademarked name, the trademark owner can file suit under the law to acquire the domain name. Trademark owners often cite the act when the infringer has given false registration information or when the infringer is operating a website in a foreign country.
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
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The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act protects brick-and-mortar casinos and gambling operators. The act attempts to curtail online gambling by making it inconvenient for gamblers to fund their online accounts. The act prohibits banks and credit card companies from transferring funds from gamblers' deposit accounts and credit cards to their accounts at online casinos and card rooms.
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References
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