Law Struggling To Keep Pace With Changes To Social Media

Is it still possible to monitor and regulate?

The nature of social media is that it is constantly changing and attempting to keep up with the developments of online communities. So it’s not always easy for the law to maintain a constant view over what’s happening on these sites.

Law is as key on the online world as it is on the streets with victims experiencing regular and constant abuse via social sites. Any help offered to the authorities is undoubtedly appreciated, with cases often being reported where messages are shared around thousands of people to help find missing people, items and criminals.

There’s no doubt that social media has provided people with a way of freely interacting with one another and offering a way for people to connect with the ones they love, admire and who inspire them. However, it does also allow people to say hurtful, disrespectful and often illegal things. Most don’t understand the rules and regulations of these sites, often pleading ignorant when they’re found guilty of doing the wrong thing.

Tweeting or retweeting can be libellous if a user falsely harms someone’s reputation. Also, if social media is used to publish information that is private about someone, then it could potentially result in a privacy claim.

A recent development on social sites, particularly Facebook, has seen young users undertaking challenges from friends where they have to drinking large quantities of alcohol, filming it, and then nominating their friends to do the same within 24 hours. Known as ‘NekNomination,’ it’s been reported that some people have died having accepted the challenge.

Often these instances can be shared around on social sites before policing will even realise that it is an issue. Stories and trends can become so mainstream at such an immediate pace that it will be almost impossible for authorities to keep up and regulate.

Recent stories in the news have seen ex-footballer and current radio presenter/journalist, Stan Collymore talk about the abuse, and specifically, racist abuse that he receives on a daily basis on Twitter. Collymore took the approach of retweeting the abuse he received so that his millions of followers could see who exactly was sending these messages. While some have recommended not giving these ‘trolls’ the airtime that they most desperately crave, there’s very little else that can be done to expose them.

It seems sad that the only way these abusers are exposed is by having a celebrity reveal their identity (or at least their Twitter handles) to the world. Why weren’t these people being investigated by the platform without the media attention caused by the celebrity being abused?

As with most situations in social media, speed is of the essence. Whether it’s a customer being replied to by a community manager of a business on Facebook and Twitter, or acting on a form of abuse before more harm is caused. Policing on social platforms is not easy. These sites can and should do more to prevent the publication of harmful material. They have terms which allow them to take a wide range of action against these abusers but often are criticised for not doing enough.

Only time will tell if more is done in the future to create a safer environment on social sites, but for now the good still outweighs the bad for the sites. The freedom of speech on these sites benefits those who create good, informative content, and until the policing on the sites is quick and efficient, there will always be those willing to ruin for little to no reason.

Dan Barr

I'm a Social Media Executive (Global Community Manager) working for an online gambling company. Previous work includes working for a major DIY retail company as part of their social media strategy team, and working on the blog of Social Media Frontiers! I have an MA in Sports Journalism and especially love the combination of social media and sport.

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