Blogger

Guide to Laws for Bloggers in the United States

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If you’re a blogger, there are some important areas of the law you should know about to protect your work and help you stay out of legal trouble. This page is a guide to laws that apply throughout the United States. Your state may provide additional protections in some of these areas, so be sure to also check your state’s laws. (For California see our combined federal & state guide here). And as always, speak to a lawyer before taking any major actions (or decisions not to act) based on this information.

Also be sure to see our Legal Guide to Creating a Website.

1. Laws about Internet, Social Media, and Email

This is an obvious area of law for bloggers, but it changes pretty frequently so be sure to keep up at our Guide to Internet Law. 

2. Marketing & Endorsements

Do I need to disclose my relationship to products I review or endorse?

Yes, see our Guide to Laws about Reviews and/or Endorsing Products or Services

What else does a blogger need to know about marketing?

See our Guide to Marketing and Merchandising.

3. Privacy Law

If you write about or post photos of people, you need to know about privacy law.

4. Copyright

It’s very important to have a good understanding of copyright law, in order to protect your own work, and to avoid being sued for copyright infringement.

5. Free Speech

You should generally know about free speech rights and laws.

6. Journalism

If you write about “newsworthy” stories, you should know about the laws for journalists.

7. Business Law

Is my blog a business?

If you make any money from your blog, such as through advertising, e-commerce, or other means, you are a business. Thus you need to know about business law.

Can I protect my blog name and prevent others from using it?

If you are making any money from your blog, you may have rights to the blog name. This is called “trademark.”

Exercise Your Rights

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