The threat of long-arm jurisdiction to electronic commerce
Robert J. Aalberts, Anthony M. Townsend, Michael E. Whitman · Communications of the ACM · 1998
One critical legal issue seriously threatening the continued growth of the Internet as a commerce medium concerns the exposure of Internet businesses to the long-arm jurisdiction of courts in 50 different states of the U.S. For those whose businesses rely on the Internet, an increasing amount of legal conflict is also arising in reaction to this new business medium. It is imperative that information system professionals become aware of how evolving Internet law will affect the medium they are charged with administrating. Differences in liability, criminal law, right to privacy and so forth all make it very dangerous for a business to be exposed to some states long-arm jurisdiction. Although no set of guidelines can completely eliminate the risk of exposure to long-arm jurisdiction, these should provide some direction to organizations currently operating or considering Web operations. Understanding risks and how some of them can be avoided will allow information system professionals to help their clientele minimize unnecessary exposure to jurisdiction in an unfavorable court.