Social media has opened up a whole new venue for communication among individuals, business owners, consumers, and more. While this is highly beneficial to those looking to become more transparent about their business activities, consumers and individuals that have used a business? professional services do have a tendency to take public feedback too far. There are a number of things that happen online in social media that would easily lead to legal battles if they happened away from social media and in the real world. For example:
Negative Feedback?and Defamation
Negative feedback about a business that is unsupported can be deemed as defamation. According to?Cornell University?s definition, the statement is defamation if it is untrue (or cannot be proven as true) and it harms the reputation of an individual or business. When a false, defamatory statement is published in writing, it is referred to as libel; which is the legal term that applies when defamation occurs via social media.
Defamation can take many forms, but the most common that appears in the more ?innocent? negative reviews of a company is that they are operating immorally or criminally when they have failed to provide a refund to an unhappy customer, or deliver a service that the client believes they are owed. The customer makes it clear on social media that they were dissatisfied, but it isn?t always fair to classify a business as ?immoral? or ?criminal? when the customer?s expectation was outside of the business? terms of service or policy. This is why it is classified as defamation, even though individuals do have the right to discuss their personal opinions on their social media accounts.
When a defamatory statement is published to a website, businesses feel they have a legal ground to seek restitution, or in the very least, get legal counsel to ensure that it is removed. When such a statement is published on social media, businesses do not always believe that they have recourse as it can be perceived as friends simply venting to one another while having a conversation about their experiences with a business. The context of the conversation may differ on social media, but the overall outcome is the same ? a defamatory statement has been associated with their name and reputation on the internet, and that could ultimately harm their business and public perception of them.
Stolen Content
When engaging via social media, individuals frequently share images, writing and ideas that did not originate with them. Even if the individual meant no harm, sharing these things online without permission from the owner, or failing to attribute credit, violates intellectual property laws. Use of stolen content is harder to track on social media, so businesses fail to report it or seek legal counsel even if they are unhappy with the way their intellectual property has been used.
In either of the above circumstances, businesses are still legally protected, even if the issue has occurred on a social media site. Progressive, forward-thinking lawyers and firms, like?Partner at King & Spalding, Steven Guynn?that witness these legal issues online can step in and educate businesses on their rights. There should be no expectation in this day and age that illegal behaviors that are harmful are allowed simply because they occur in what is deemed a ?social? setting.
Source: http://www.legalbugle.com/establishing-the-laws-of-social-media
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