What internet law do I need to know?
Most people think that the law regarding online behaviour is vague and still developing because the internet is relatively new, but this is wrong.
Internet law deals with exactly the same legal issues as normal law, it's just applied to the different features of the online world.
Whenever you purchase, write or download anything on the internet, you are subject to exactly the same consumer, defamation and copyright laws as in the non-virtual world.
Who owns stuff online?
One of the most common misconceptions about the internet is that all material on it is freely available to the public.
Just like the real world, every image, sentence, and audio or video clip belongs to someone, and if you use it without permission you are breaking the law.
The high profile cases in the media are usually about pirated online music or videos but that doesn't mean that you can freely copy text and pictures.
If you started distributing the latest Harry Potter novel online you're just as likely to get in trouble as if you put the Harry Potter soundtrack online.
It's still practically unheard of for the end users of pirated material online to be prosecuted. Most media companies are targeting file-sharing companies like Morpheus and iMesh.
But as the technology to embed copyright information in text and pictures as well as video and music becomes more advanced, this could change.
Be careful where you visit
Absolutely anyone with the right knowledge and a bit of money can set up their own website, but that doesn't mean that what they've published is legal.
Amateur web editors create a huge majority of websites on the internet, and material on them can be untrue or even illegal.
Just because a site is available on the net, it doesn't mean that it is legal, and in some instances, such as child pornography, it can be illegal to view or even possess certain images - even if you didn't realise you had.
Also remember, just because something may be legal in the country where the website is hosted does not mean it's legal to view where you live.
You can also report any inappropriate content to the Internet Watch Foundation.
Consumer law
You should be aware that as a consumer, you have exactly the same rights as on the high street.
But before you use your credit card or bank details to purchase online, check that the site is secure and reputable. Look out for secure transaction padlock in your status bar.
That's important as credit card companies can refuse to pay up against fraudulent use of you card if they can prove you didn't take sufficient care whilst using your credit card online.
Check out the UK government's consumer site for more information on your rights online.
Libel and chat room behaviour
It is the responsibility of webmasters to ensure that their websites do not contain any libellous material - a statement that could be damaging to a company or individual.
This is particularly important for those who host or use chat rooms or message boards.
If you post a message that includes a libellous sentence about someone, you could be liable for prosecution, and in some cases the host of the message board can also be prosecuted.
Most message boards and chat rooms will include legal small print that frees them from accusations of libel, if they have done enough to remove the libellous remark.
However, the individual who posted the libellous remark could still be prosecuted - so remember to treat people as you would like to be treated when you're on a message board.
Also remember that an e-mail you send to a friend in private could be forwarded on and may be read by other people than those you expected - so think twice before you type.
Have a look at BBCi News Online's story on e-mails you wish you hadn't sent.
File-sharing
Copyright law gives all legal rights to the creator of words, pictures and music - meaning that any copies made without consent of the creator are illegal.
The problem with the internet is that it makes it very easy to make illegal copies of all these things.
This issue has come to media attention with the online copyright issues surrounding Napster and other such software that makes it easy to copy and exchange.
This isn't a problem for those songs that were free of copyright, but many were not.
You are allowed to make MP3s from CD tracks that you already own, but it is illegal to distribute them without permission from the original artist.
This means you can download tracks to your MP3 players, but anything more than that is subject to copyright law.
Publishing on the internet
If you're considering building a web page or want to set up your own weblog, you should be careful exactly what you are publishing.
Any words and images that you publish on the net are subject to the same laws as magazines and newspapers in the real world.
Copying text in bulk and publishing it on your own site without permission is illegal - even if you do credit the author and link to the relevant site it came from.
But linking to content on other websites is perfectly acceptable so rather than copy, try and find the text online and link to it.
A great way to liven up your website is to include images, but be careful where you get them from. It's very easy to just click on an image and download it for your own use, but you don't own the rights.
Copying any image or text from another site without asking permission of the author is illegal without permission.