Social media and the law
There are other downfalls related to social media use that involve legal issues. These issues are:
- potential for libel
- breaking copyright laws
Potential for libel
High profile cases in the media demonstrate the upward trend in defamationDamaging the good reputation of someone. cases in the UK.
From a legal viewpoint, defamation occurs when an online comment can be considered as damaging to someone’s reputation "in the estimation of right-thinking members of society". It can do this by exposing them to "hatred, ridicule or contempt". This includes any comment that is reposted. If someone is found guilty of defamation, they will have to pay a fine to the victim. The key message is to think before you post anything. A comment that you send to a friend can be reposted elsewhere.
Real-life example one
In 2014, author JK Rowling filed a defamation lawsuit against the Daily Mail, who ran a headline about her experiences of being a single mother that she claimed were untrue. The publisher of the Daily Mail accepted the allegations were “completely false and indefensible”, published an apology and settled for an undisclosed amount.
Real-life example two
A student in New South Wales, Australia, took to Twitter and Facebook with a grudge against a teacher. His comments on Twitter were considered defamatory and he was ordered to pay $105,000 AUD (over £64,000) in damages to the teacher. The judge stated that the comments had a devastating effect on the popular teacher.
Make sure that you know the law about the kind of comments that might get you in trouble
Copyright laws
Copyright is a legal right. It gives someone who has created an original piece of work exclusive rights for that work to be distributed or re-used.
However, increasingly, people are sharing photos and videos by posting them on to the internet, and in some cases are breaking the laws of copyright. This is because copyright gives the owner full control over publication, distribution and adaptation.
Copyright law can protect pieces of work such as:
- writing
- music
- film footage – from major films to something that is filmed on someone’s phone
- images including logos, paintings and photographs
- websites and webpages
The only circumstances in which you can legally post anything online that is not your own, is when you have obtained permission from the person who owns the copyright.
Be aware of some of the things you can safely upload to the internet
