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Robbie Farrah is the latest celebrity to receive a tweet from a follower that has been widely labeled as abusive. The attack on the Australian sports figure has sparked a call for a review of current social media laws. Britain has already prosecuted a number of social media cases in which abuse has been directed at an individual through social media. Here are two articles from AAP on the Farrah incident:

“Barry O’Farrell Calls for Review of Social Media Laws”

“Twitter ‘Trolls’ Should Be Punished”

 

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Twitter’s days of standing between your tweets and the law may be numbered. Manhattan Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr told Twitter they have until September 14 to produce Malcolm Harris’ tweets in relation to criminal charges or be held in contempt. Christine Simmons relates more details in her article “Twitter is Given a Deadline to Avoid Contempt.”

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Two recent cases highlight that posting to Facebook is not as uncomplicated as you may think. A defamation case in the UK recognized that a third party did have to disclose information on users whose identities were sought by the plaintiff. In the US, employee guidelines for social media were seen to be too broad and often violated the National Labor Review Board rules. “Social Media Spotlight: Latest Legal Moves in the UK and US” gives an in-depth look at both cases.

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Gervase de Wilde provides a very useful summary of some recent, important cases from the Supreme Court concerning First Amendment rights. In addition, the article covers recent cases that deal with defamation, libel, privacy, and other social media generated concerns. The article, “US Freedom of Expression and Media Law Round-Up”, provides a good synopsis of cases you should be aware of.

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California is poised to pass SB1349 which would make it illegal for colleges or universities to demand students reveal their social media passwords. Lori Pruitt’s article “Law Would Ban College From Getting Social Media Passwords” looks at this timely back-to-school issue.

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The Fourth Circuit reports that “the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management… has proposed model jury instructions regarding electronic technology use during trial.” This is an attempt to give concrete guidelines to jurors in regards to the use of social media during trial. Robyn Hagan Cain’s article “Will Proposed Model Jury Instructions Combat Social Media in Court?” looks at the issue.

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If you use social media for advertising, there are some legal issues that you should be aware of. Some users of social media like Pinterest may not realize that their posts could be construed as advertising. These users can also benefit from this quick primer of do’s and don’ts from Jennifer L Gregor: “Prevent Advertising Legal Errors in Social Media.”

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The UK High Court recently stated in Chambers v Director of Public Prosecution[2012] that the Internet was a “public electronic communications network.” One of the possible ramifications of this decision is that tweet that you thought was private, is now subject to a much wider range of regulation. This decision underscores that when considering social media, you need to be aware of the global reach and context of your engagement. “United Kingdom: The Twitter Judgment: The Law With Unintended Consequences?” by Chris Watson, Joanne Wheeler and Bailey Ingram looks at the issue in greater depth.


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Because Facebook is a US based company, other countries have had difficulty in applying their own laws to disputes over content posted on the social media site. A recent controversy over The Aboriginal Memes Facebook page saw the Australian poster using US free speech protections to avoid Australian anti-discrimination laws. For the full story, read Rod McGuirk’s article “Facebook Pressured to Remove Page Deemed Racist.”

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Social media is being used to help facilitate voting come November. Pennsylvania is particularly reaching out to let voters know about the new voter ID law through Facebook and Twitter. Read the press release from the Pennsylvania Department of State for the full story.

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