Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat allow users to connect with one another and share information with the click of a mouse or a tap on a touchscreen—and have become vital tools for professionals in the news and strategic communication fields. But as rapidly as these services have grown in popularity, their legal ramifications aren’t widely understood. To what extent do communicators put themselves at risk for defamation and privacy lawsuits when they use these tools, and what rights do communicators have when other users talk about them on social networks? How can an entity maintain control of intellectual property issues—such as posting copyrighted videos and photographs—consistent with the developing law in this area? How and when can journalists and publicists use these tools to do their jobs without endangering their employers or clients? Including two new chapters that examine First Amendment issues and ownership of social media accounts and content, Social Media and the Law brings together thirteen media law scholars to address these questions and more, including current issues like copyright, online impersonation, anonymity, cyberbullying, sexting, and live streaming. Students and professional communicators alike need to be aware of laws relating to defamation, privacy, intellectual property, and government regulation—and this guidebook is here to help them navigate the tricky legal terrain of social media.

In this new textbook, social media professor Jeremy Lipschultz introduces students to the study of social media law and ethics, integrating legal concepts and ethical theories. The book explores free expression, as it applies to students, media industry professionals, content creators and audience members. Key issues and practices covered include copyright law, data privacy, revenge porn, defamation, government censorship, social media platform rules, and employer policies. Research techniques are also used to suggest future trends in social media law and ethics. Touching on themes and topics of significant contemporary relevance, this accessible textbook can be used in standalone law and ethics courses, as well as emerging social media courses that are disrupting traditional public relations, advertising and journalism curricula. Case studies, discussion questions, and online resources help students engage with the complexities and ambiguities of this future-oriented area of media law, making it an ideal textbook for students of media law, policy and ethics, mass media, and communication studies.

Social media has transformed how the world communicates. Its impact has been felt in every corner of our society including the law. Social Media Law in a Nutshell is a wide-ranging look of how the social media transformation has impacted various legal fields. From marketing to employment to torts to criminal law to copyright and beyond, virtually every legal field has been changed by social media. By looking at high level concerns and example cases, Social Media Law in a Nutshell attempts to give practitioners exposure to social media issues and concerns so they can better advise clients and approach the new social media world with their legal eyes opened to new and old risks alike. This book can also serve as a text for law professors looking to expose law students to the burgeoning area of Social Media Law. The second addition covers new cases, regulations, and guidance from government regulators in the social media space.

Social media has many advantages for professional communication – but it also carries considerable risks, including legal pitfalls. This book equips students and communication professionals with the knowledge and skills to help minimise the risks that can arise when they post or host on social media. It offers them strategies for taking advantage of the opportunities of social media while also navigating the ethical, legal, and organisational risks that can lead to audience outrage, brand damage, expensive litigation and communication crises. The book uses stakeholder theory and risk analysis tools to anticipate, identify, address and balance these opportunities and risks. It takes a global approach to risk and social media law, drawing on fascinating case studies from key international jurisdictions to explain and illustrate the basic principles. Whether you are a corporate communicator, social media manager, journalist, marketer, blogger or student you will find this book an essential addition to your professional library as the first reference point when social media and legal risks arise.

How are users influenced by social media platforms when they generate content, and does this influence affect users’ compliance with copyright laws? These are pressing questions in today’s internet age, and Regulating Content on Social Media answers them by analysing how the behaviours of social media users are regulated from a copyright perspective. Corinne Tan, an internet governance specialist, compares copyright laws on selected social media platforms, namely Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter and Wikipedia, with other regulatory factors such as the terms of service and the technological features of each platform. This comparison enables her to explore how each platform affects the role copyright laws play in securing compliance from their users. Through a case study detailing the content generative activities undertaken by a hypothetical user named Jane Doe, as well as drawing from empirical studies, the book argues that – in spite of copyright’s purported regulation of certain behaviours – users are 'nudged' by the social media platforms themselves to behave in ways that may be inconsistent with copyright laws. Praise for Regulating Content on Social Media 'This book makes an important contribution to the field of social media and copyright. It tackles the real issue of how social media is designed to encourage users to engage in generative practices, in a sense effectively “seducing” users into practices that involve misuse or infringement of copyright, whilst simultaneously normalising such practices.’ Melissa de Zwart, Dean of Law, Adelaide Law School, Australia "This timely and accessible book examines the regulation of content generative activities across five popular social media platforms – Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter and Wikipedia. Its in-depth, critical and comparative analysis of the platforms' growing efforts to align terms of service and technological features with copyright law should be of great interest to anyone studying the interplay of law and new media." Peter K. Yu, Director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property, Texas A&M University

Social Media Law examines social and new media issues through the lens of law and policy, reflecting new case law and legislative developments.

This fully updated third edition of Social Media and the Law offers an essential guide to navigating the complex legal terrain of social media. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have become vital tools for professionals in the news and strategic communication fields. As these services have rapidly grown in popularity, their legal ramifications have continued to develop, resulting in students and professional communicators needing to be aware of laws relating to defamation, privacy, intellectual property, and government regulation. Editor Daxton Stewart brings together eleven media law scholars to address key questions, such as the following: To what extent do communicators put themselves at risk for lawsuits when they use these tools? What rights do communicators have when other users talk about them on social networks? How can people and companies manage intellectual property issues consistent with the developing law in this area? This book is essential for students of media, mass communication, strategic communication, journalism, advertising, and public relations, as well as professional communicators that use social media in their role.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Flickr allow users to connect with one another and share information with the click of a mouse or a tap on a touchscreen—and have become vital tools for professionals in the news and strategic communication fields. But as rapidly as these services have grown in popularity, their legal ramifications aren’t widely understood. To what extent do communicators put themselves at risk for defamation and privacy lawsuits when they use these tools, and what rights do communicators have when other users talk about them on social networks? How can an entity maintain control of intellectual property issues—such as posting copyrighted videos and photographs—consistent with the developing law in this area? How and when can journalists and publicists use these tools to do their jobs without endangering their employers or clients? In Social Media and the Law, eleven media law scholars address these questions and more, including current issues like copyright, online impersonation, anonymity, cyberbullying, sexting, and WikiLeaks. Students and professional communicators alike need to be aware of laws relating to defamation, privacy, intellectual property, and government regulation—and this guidebook is here to help them navigate the tricky legal terrain of social media.

The tax implications of social media are numerous and highly debated, spanning such issues as the taxation of influencers, digital barter, and digital services taxes. This book offers a detailed overall analysis of the tax implications of social media, taking into consideration the unique characteristics of social media platforms and companies. Offering a comprehensive overview of tax law as it relates to the specificities of social media, the book examines taxation of influencers, taxation of social media companies, value added tax implications of the digital barter, the role that can be played by Pigouvian taxes in the field of social media, as well as the employment of social media as a tool for tax compliance. Widespread use of social media along with the proliferation of new social media platforms demonstrate the importance of social media tax law, and this book will be an important resource for tax administrations, lawyers, and researchers.