About

Disclaimers

This page is dedicated to statements and disclaimers that aim to reinforce the credibility of the website, protect the website owner by malignant actions and protect the website users.

Sponsorship policy

Website describes the manner in which the organization or website addresses sponsorship or funding. The disclaimer on the sponsorship policy informs the users who funds the website and reveals all relevant associations that could be considered a potential conflict of interest in relation to the posted content. Moreover, for websites with advertisements it is important to include the criteria for the website to accept to advertise a particular product.

Example suggested:
Vaccine Knowledge
URL: https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/about

Third party content

If website includes third-party content or advertising, website indicates whether it has control over this material; website includes a disclaimer stating that displaying this extra content does not imply endorsement.

Example suggested:
Families Fighting Flu, INC
URL: https://www.familiesfightingflu.org/references

User response policy

Users can contact website owner to report technical issues such as broken links or to provide feedback. This contributes to enhance accountability to users. In the context of evaluating website responsiveness, WHO assessor sends a test question. Responsiveness is assessed after seven calendar days (or as per the website’s policy). It is not mandatory for a site to have a user respond policy. Website owners should strive to respond to user feedback within seven calendar days or as per the website’s policy. If this is not possible, websites should, at a minimum, provide automatic confirmation that the message has been received.

Examples suggested:
Mesvaccins.net
URL: https://www.mesvaccins.net/home/contact.php
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
URL: https://thl.fi/en/web/thlfi-en/about-us/contact-us

Comment section monitoring disclaimer (if any)

Containing a comment section is not mandatory. In case the website includes a comments section, it discloses how comments are moderated.

Example suggested:
Immunization Action Coalition
URL: http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/
URL: http://www.immunize.org/iacadmin/disclaimer.asp

Procedure for selection of site content

The disclaimer on the editorial policy informs the users how the content is selected, what content is selected, who is responsible for selecting the content and the frequency of the review.

Example suggested:
Immunization Action Coalition
URL: http://www.immunize.org/aboutus/content-review.asp

Use of material / copyright

Usually, governmental websites provide information not subject to copyright and may be freely used without obtaining copyright permission. For copyrighted content e.g., materials requiring purchase, information on legality of further use or distribution of materials (e.g., use of Creative Commons license), should be clearly indicated.

Examples suggested:
The History of Vaccines
URL: http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/legal-and-privacy
Immunize Canada
URL: http://immunize.ca/en/legal.aspx