I’m a firm believer that it’s little use inflicting a punishment if the wrongdoer doesn’t understand why they did wrong. Or even that a punishment has been inflicted at all. My view is backed up in the world of children’s moderation where best practice is tell the young users why they broke the sites terms [...]
Update 20th Dec 2012: The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, has published interim guidelines setting out the approach prosecutors should take in cases involving communications sent via social media. Any posts that pose a credible threat of violence, breach a court order or constitute stalking or harassment will still result in prosecution. However, [...]
Several times over the last few months, we’ve been approached by brands (particularly retailers) who are worried about getting involved on Pinterest. They feel they should get involved – it’s the new, shiny social network, and great for visual brands like fashion retailers – but are worried about the legal implications of using Pinterest – [...]
As the start of the Olympics approaches, the excitement mounts: and for those actually participating, attending or helping at the Games, it must be all the more thrilling. And it’s natural to want to share the excitement on social networks – this is the ‘social media Olympics’ after all.. But even the superstar performers (and their sponsors [...]
Image courtesy of www.slashgear.com The biggest news in social media over the last few weeks has been Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram for an eye-watering US$1 billion. Not bad for two years’ work… Our social networks have been abuzz with speculation as to why and how Instagram could be worth so much for Mr Zuckerberg [...]
There has been a lot of furore over the past few weeks about Pinterest and its terms and conditions. The debate crystallized in a blog post by a photographer who removed her pictures on the basis that Pinterest’s terms said it could “sell” the pictures and claimed permanent ownership of any pictures ‘pinned’. Her blog [...]
The mass actions of the Arab Spring and the London riots and the recent case of Kony2012 highlight the huge part the social media plays in shaping the the way we think and act. UGC platforms are increasingly being used by a range of civic actors in innovative ways: to amplify their voices, organize campaigns and emergency services, [...]
In a week when eModeration celebrates its 10th birthday, it’s nice to be able to announce that we now officially own the trade mark “eModeration” in the USA. When Tamara Littleton first registered the domain name, that word just didn’t exist, as a Googlewhack at the time revealed … So, despite a few instances of people using [...]
Earlier this month the IAB and ISBA issued guidelines specifically addressing the issue of celebrity endorsements within social media. Or, to give it the more legal title, ‘the payment for editorial content to specifically promote a brand, product or service within social media’. The guidelines have been developed in consultation with the Office of Fair [...]
Last week a joint committee of peers and MPs published their report into the Government’s draft Bill revising the UK’s defamation laws. The revisions are manifold and aimed in part at reducing the amount of ‘libel tourism’ and also supporting complainants who cannot afford to make a legal challenge to those with bigger pockets. But [...]