Social Media, Higher Education and the Law

Published on January 2017 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 30 | Comments: 0 | Views: 229
of 12
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
Internet based applications  That depend on creation and exchange of usergenerated content  Different types and uses

 Used

by students and employees for personal entertainment and enrichment  Used by higher education for recruitment, development, publicity, admissions, teaching, etc.

TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Blogging/microblogging (wordpress, twitter)  Social networking (facebook, linkedin)  Multimedia (video, podcasting, photo)  Wiki/Bulletin Boards (wikipedia, collegeacb)  Presence Applications (foursquare, yelp)  Virtual worlds and games


PREVALENCE AND IMPACT
Technology moves at a lightning pace  Institutional processes and approaches have a very difficult time keeping up with each new technology

 Advice:

develop consistent approaches which are not media specific

LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUES
Who owns and controls user-created content?  Who can be responsible for liabilities related to user-created or provided content?

 copyrighted  defamation

information

 nonlegal

risks (public relations, hate speech)

WHO OWNS AND CONTROLS USER-GENERATED CONTENT?


Understand the terms of use (which often change!)
 Great

variance (example, Twitter)  Institution does NOT control social media


Communication is immediate and broad
 Train

employees regarding what can be communicated and just how broad the communication is

TWITTER TERMS OF USE




You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed). Tip: This license is you authorizing us to make your Tweets available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same. But what’s yours is yours – you own your content.

LIABILITY


Copyright Infringement
 Poster-liable  Site

Host-not liable

 Terms

of use prohibit  Maintain reporting mechanism  Section 512(c) of the DMCA

IIED, CYBERBULLYING, INVASION OF PRIVACY

Liability of user who generates content  Social media site hosting content

 Section

230 of the CDA immunizes websites from liability resulting from the publication of information provided by another
 Recent

case relying on Section 230: Finkel v. Facebook  But see, Roommates.com case
 Foreign

law (e.g., Google criminal case in Italy regarding video of autistic child)

DEFAMATION AND OTHER TORTS


Common law defamation concepts
 False

statement of fact made or published of or concerning another

Terms of use typically prohibit defamatory content from being posted  Application of Section 230 of the CDA should protect host site

 “users”

of data may be protected as well

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close