Recommendation 6.1.8 Disclaiming content

The Recommendation

Recommendation 6.1.8 - Disclaiming content. Agency site(s) includes a content disclaimer.

As a minimum, the disclaimer should state that the information contained within the web site is true and accurate to the best of the agency's knowledge; however, the agency cannot accept any liability for its accuracy or content.

Any content item that is deemed necessary to have its own disclaimer notice should have such a notice or link to the disclaimer notice associated with the content to which it pertains, such that there is no ambiguity as to what item of content it is disclaiming.

Guide to this recommendation

The agency is encouraged to seek its own professional advice regarding disclaimer content if the agency requires further information.

It is at the discretion of the agency to determine the placement of the disclaimer on the site(s) and how often it appears, i.e. on every page, on a disclaimer page, in the footer etc.

Content disclaiming over and above that stated as a minimum in the associated recommendation should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

For example, where material on a government web site originated outside government, the following may be appropriate:

The following information [specific document etc.] is provided for convenience as part of the service we offer at this web site. However, the [organisation name] cannot accept any liability for its accuracy or content. Visitors who rely on this information do so at their own risk.

A suitable disclaimer for links to information on non-government web sites might read:

The [organisation name] is not responsible for the contents or reliability of the linked web sites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing shall not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time, and we have no control over availability of the linked pages.

Agencies should be thorough with any content that is released by other means (other than the web site(s)), to avoid a variance in disclaimer content across different media, or have a disclaimer in the web site version but absent in other media version(s).

Rationale for this recommendation

Whilst agency sites should strive to ensure the content on their sites is accurate and up to date, it is inevitable that there will be cases when inadvertent items “slip” through.