Internet marketers seem to be a bit confused by what TOS really means. Many believe it to be law. It is not law. They are not the same thing. So that you aren’t confused by the two any longer, this author is going to try to explain the difference as clearly as he can. I am not a lawyer, so for clarification of this issue, I suggest you consult with one before doing anything.

First of all, what does TOS stand for? It stands for Terms Of Service. These are terms that you agree to before using the resources of a specific site. For example, the article directory where you are reading this has specific TOS regarding what articles they will accept and how you may use their site. With some article directories, their TOS is quite long…pages long in fact. However, do no confuse TOS with law. Why?

With TOS, if you violate the terms of the site, the worst that can happen to you is that the site in question can remove your membership. They cannot fine you, imprison you or charge you with any kind of crime that can get you into any legal trouble UNLESS part of their TOS has to do WITH a legal issue.

For example, let’s say that the TOS of a particular site says that you will not make any false or misleading claims about a product that you’re promoting. Now, if you were to do this, and it could be proven that you were guilty of fraud, then it is quite possible that the FTC or some other legal agency COULD come after you. This would be the only exception.

However, for the most part, the terms of service of a particular site apply to THAT site only whereas law would apply on a more general level. Fraud is fraud no matter where you go.

This does NOT mean that you take the terms of service of a site lightly. For one thing, if the site is one that is useful to your marketing campaign, the last thing you want to do is tick that site off. The advantage you think you might get by trying to skirt around some of their terms will be quickly taken away when you are no longer able to use them at all. And trust me, when these sites say permanent ban…they mean it.

The severity of breaking TOS as opposed to law may not be as great as far as legal consequences and possible jail time, but the impact on your wallet can still be greatly felt.

In other words, be good to the sites that you use for your marketing and they’ll be good to you.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to know what the 7 Deadly Sins of Internet Marketing are? Get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/7deadlysins/7deadlysins.html and save your business from going down the tubes before it even has a chance.