Wednesday, 27 January 2016


Rights and responsibilities of individuals using social media


·        There are a number of cases increasing where individuals have been prosecuted for their own actions on social media pages such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. below are some link for information on the above social media pages:




 

People are usually not aware of the Law about social media when posting things on these social media sites and that they are legally binding statements.

·        There are a number of laws such as the Malicious Communications Act of 1988, the Communications Act of 2003, and the criminal Justice and Police Act of 2001. These all cover forms of methods of communicating including email and social media. It is illegal to send “indecent” or “grossly offensive” messages. It is also illegal to send “threats” or “false information” with the intention of “causing anxiety or distress” to other individuals.

·        The Harassment act of 1997 plays a part in the protection of social media users and if an individual is found guilty of sending such content, they can face both a fine and up to six months in prison.

·        Social media is very similar in comparison to communications via telephone or text message. You have the right to feel safe when using these particular ways of communicating. You also have the right of freedom of speech unless it may cause anxiety and/or distress to anyone who may view the post/message.

·        It is more complicated when protecting yourself. Each website has different methods of protecting its users. The most effective way to protect yourself is by paying attention to the privacy settings and blocking users who you do not wish to communicate with. Most sites also give users the ability to report an individual of cyber bullying or threatening behaviour.

·        You also have the protection of both the police and UK legal system. Providing the police with evidence to show that somebody has made you feel distress and/or anxious on social media may be enough to lead to a prosecution.

·        Social media users may think that any images, videos or posts that they publish on social media sites may never be viewed again if deleted, however most websites store these after they have been deleted in order to protect other users if they report abuse then this content may be used and viewed during an investigation.

·        In conclusion a survey taken recently showed that over 30% of teenagers have been affected by cyber bullying in their life and with the growth of new social media sites this number is certain to increase. However it is becoming easier to protect yourself from cyber bullying as well as avoiding being considered a cyber-bully or offending individuals over social media
 
  • File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. It involves various legal aspects as it is often used to exchange intellectual property that is subject to copyright law or licensing.
  • Music copyright laws are those laws that protect the copyright interest that musicians and performers have over their own, original work.
    Copyright law in the UK protects any original work automatically; there is no need to use a lawyer to register your recording or production.
below is a link that explains the copyright infringement of celebrities to use videos and sound files for profit that they don't own http://uk.businessinsider.com/facebook-copyright-infringement-facebook-content-id-celebrities-2015-5


Bethany Smillie

1 comment:

  1. great amount of information although there could have been more links or an image to provide more understanding.

    ReplyDelete