The Guardian announced today that 5 of the UK's largest news websites receive more foriegn than UK-based visitors, including The Mail at the top of the list with nearly 70% of users from overseas. The others were The Telegraph, The Times, Guardian and BBC websites. Many of these are now actively targetting the overseas market. A sensible time, then, for websites such as these to review their terms of use and ensure they are appropriate not just for the UK market but also in those relevant foriegn jurisdictions.
As is usual for websites based in the UK, each of these five news websites specify that English law applies to their terms of use (see dailymail.co.uk, telegraph.co.uk, timesonline.co.uk, guardian.co.uk and bbc.co.uk). However, where websites actively target or have large audiences in other countries, it is possible that local laws in the relevant jurisdiction will also apply either in addition to or instead of English law. This is particularly the case in relation to infringement of IP rights and defamation. Website owners should therefore consider seeking local advice where a significant proportion of traffic is from overseas.
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