Mandatory in France, particularly on e-commerce sites built on Shopify, the website's legal disclaimer is information that lets Internet users know who they are dealing with and how they can get in touch with the website's owners.
This information must be easily and quickly accessible from any page of the website (often integrated at the bottom of each page).
Here's everything you need to know about writing legal notices for your website and integrating them into Shopify.
What legal notices must the publisher of a website make available to Internet users?
Articles 6-III and 19 of law no. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004 on confidence in the digital economy require website publishers to communicate certain information to Internet users, such as :
For an individual or a sole trader, the following information must be provided:
- Full name,
- Home address,
- Telephone number and e-mail address
For a legal entity or company, display :
- the corporate name of the legal entity or company: name and SIRET number,
- its legal form,
- the amount of its share capital,
- head office address.
In addition to the information identifying your structure, you must add the details of your website host (in this case, SHOPIFY):
- host name
- company name ;
- address;
- SIRET number ;
- phone number.
In addition to this information, the publisher will need to identify the person responsible for the publications, whose first and last name, IDU number or other information will be communicated according to his or her capacity.
Who writes the legal notices?
The legal notices are written by the owner or publisher of the Shopify. website.
Your web developer should not provide you with legal notices that fall outside his scope of work.
Although models exist online, it is advisable to call on a legal professional to avoid any errors or omissions since sector-specific texts may impose additional obligations to be indicated with these legal notices.
When to put legal notices on Shopify website?
Legal notices must be published as soon as the website hosted by Shopify goes online.
In short, legal notices are a legal obligation for any website, and their absence can result in significant penalties. It is therefore advisable to draft your legal notices carefully, enlisting the help of an internet lawyer to avoid any errors or omissions.
What are the penalties for not providing legal notices on Shopify?
Failure to include legal notices on a website can result in penalties, including a fine of €75,000 and one year's imprisonment for natural persons and a fine of €375,000 for legal entities.
In addition, it can lead to a ban on certain professional activities, whether direct or indirect. It is therefore crucial to ensure that legal notices are present on a website.
Additional information if you distribute products to consumers (Extended Producer Responsibility) ?
Since January 1, 2022, mention of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Unique Identifier (UID) may be required in the legal notices of a website for companies selling physical products(Article R. 541-173 of the Environmental Code).
EPR obliges producers to assume responsibility for the products they place on the market, even after they have been used or consumed. This obligation also applies to distributors, importers, exporters and resellers, who are considered producers if they place products on the market under their name or brand.
The UDI is a unique identifier that must be assigned to each producer by the competent authorities. This identifier enables products to be tracked throughout their life cycle, from manufacture to end-of-life treatment. Companies subject to EPR must therefore include their UID in their legal disclosures in order to comply with legal requirements.
Failure to comply with this obligation may result in sanctions, including fines and bans on professional activities. If the unique identifiers are not included in the GTCs, or in contractual documents where the producer does not have GTCs, the latter is liable to payment of a fine not exceeding 30,000 euros underArticle L. 541-9-5, para. 4 of the Environmental Code.
Marketplaces that sell products on behalf of third parties must contribute to the prevention and management of waste from products subject to the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under article L. 541-10-9 of the French Environment Code, introduced by the AGEC law. They are subject to EPR obligations for products sold in their own name and for those sold on behalf of third parties. However, they are not bound by these obligations if the supplier communicates the Unique Identifier (UID) for each EPR channel concerned.
In short, mentioning the Extended Producer Responsibility and Unique Identifier is a legal obligation for companies selling physical products.
Do my legal notices have to be in French?
Yes, as long as your website is aimed at French consumers.
Indeed, the Toubon law of August 4, 1994 on the use of the French language stipulates that " in the designation, offer, presentation, instructions for use or use, description of the scope and conditions of guarantee of a good, product or service, the use of the French language is mandatory " (art. 2).
Select the "Seetings" section at the bottom left of your space on Shopfy and then select "Policies" on the second open page at the bottom of the list.
As soon as you have opened this page, you must fill in the "Legal notice" text provided for this purpose.
In any case, you should make sure that this page is included in your footnotes. In fact, your legal notices must be present on every page of your Shopify store.
It's important to take into account, in addition to the usual legal notices, other essential information. This includes details of the personal data that is collected and processed by the site, e-commerce specifics if the site sells products or services, and ranking and reference information for certain types of sites, such as matchmaking platforms and sites featuring goods and services offered by third parties, such as marketplaces.
It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Don't worry, I'm here to help! For advice tailored to your situation, and to ensure that your site complies with all regulations, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be delighted to help you. Click below to send me a message now!
