Liabilities on inappropriate content

[worthspending]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

I am working for a company that hosts a website that generates word based games. Games are created when a user submits a list of words. The game can be played interactively by the user. We are working on a feature that will allow any user (registered or unregistered) to submit a list of words and email the generated game to any number of email addresses. I voiced a concern regarding liability of malicious users submitting inappropriate content and sending email via our service, however, I do not have the experience to identify the liabilities. Any thoughts as to the liabilities and suggestions on how to protect against them would be deeply appreciated.

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

I am working for a company that hosts a website that generates word based games. Games are created when a user submits a list of words. The game can be played interactively by the user. We are working on a feature that will allow any user (registered or unregistered) to submit a list of words and email the generated game to any number of email addresses. I voiced a concern regarding liability of malicious users submitting inappropriate content and sending email via our service, however, I do not have the experience to identify the liabilities. Any thoughts as to the liabilities and suggestions on how to protect against them would be deeply appreciated.

Unfortunately, there probably isn't an easy answer to your question, because any issues of liability would likely be based on state law, and since the website can be accessed from anywhere, you would need to comply with all of the state's laws. Ideally, you would sit down with a local attorney who could review all of te facts of your situation and advise you accordingly. That said, I am not aware of any statutes regarding liability of email senders for the contents of their email (child pornography excepted, of course!). Perhaps it might be possible to include a filter in your software to filter out certain classes of words, maybe that would be a possibility.