Your Social Media Profile and the Law
One of the joys of social media is that it gives everyone a voice. Previously it was difficult for someone to get their views and opinions published and into the public domain - now it is simple and instantaneous. This has broken barriers, social media and the Internet have been powerful facilitators of business. However there are drawbacks for businesses which include:
- User-Generated Content (UGC) which allows people to upload onto your profile (including comments) which helps engagement, but carries the big legal risk of infringing third party rights such as copyright or trademark.
- Comments online can be venting in nature rather than constructive, running the risk of defamatory or discriminatory statements being made as well as cyber-bullying.
- There is a risk of competitors making comparisons with or disparaging claims about your products or services or making unsubstantiated claims about theirs.
- Finally, the big one in these days of focus on the GDPR, social media always carries the risk of data protection and privacy breaches.
IP breaches and action you can take
Both the author of the UGC as well as you, the social media profile, are capable of being liable for any post which infringes third party IP rights. Action a third party IP holder can take against you includes a Court “take down injunction”, seizure, and damages for loss of profits. Your website therefore should have an accepted use policy which should also cover all your social media platforms. If your business model is an online subscription one, your terms and conditions agreement should definitely cover accepted uses. Moderation is also key, do not forget to regularly review content and delete offending posts where necessary!
Defamation, cyber-bullying and discrimination
Following on from the last point you have to delete UCG in a consistent way, therefore having a notice and take down policy is a good idea, not only in establishing a consistent practise but it would also allow you to defend any claim in Court more robustly. If you receive a complaint in relation to a potentially libellous/defaming statement then you must acknowledge that within 48 hours and notify the poster of the defamatory material, if possible. If the poster does not respond to the complaint, the website/profile operator must remove the material within 5 days.
You should follow a more robust policy for dealing with statements which are discriminatory in nature or in cases of cyber-bullying. Such content should be deleted immediately and the individual posting should be banned and notified in writing of why they were banned (as evidence you acted responsibly). Retain evidence of the offending material and report incidents to the authorities.
Data Protection and GDPR
If you have not had a professional review your data protection/privacy policy and practices in light of the GDPR you should have this done as a matter of urgency. Establish a clear social media policy which should be a detailed and formal document intended to educate and inform.
If the contents of this article interested you or you would like to discuss another legal issue, then visit us at www.cassadys.co.uk or message me directly.