Social media platforms have indeed made the world a smaller place. Not only can we send messages quickly, but we also share essential posts, videos and news in a second. This is the reason why 3.96 billion people are on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
However, social media platforms have also introduced many malpractices. Many people have taken advantage of the interface, which goes against constitutional law. Let us discuss the aspects, rules and implications in details.
Why Are We Talking About it?
The Big Picture
Thesocial media sites have become lucrative targets for criminals looking for quick monetization. Some people have even used the platform to propagate wrong agendas, spread misinformation, and much more.
Not to forget, the number of cyberattacks and hacking cases are rising. Many teenagers have fallen victim to predators and unfortunate recipients of inappropriate messages. Many people have tricked into revealing personal details or share bank accounts. And they all had to suffer the consequences.
But, the people who commit the crime gets away easily with no repercussions. Some even operate beyond their jurisdiction and scam innocent people. If the statistics are to be believed, then 53% of the logins on the social media sites are fraudulent.
Thus, it is imperative stringent rules be imposed on these sites, and severe action be taken against the individuals responsible for the heinous acts.
Violation of Rules and Terms
In order to understand it, let us take a look at the rules that everyone should follow on the social media sites:
1. Online Contests & Promotions:
You should take a look at the Terms of Service (TOS) of the social media platform you are using. For example, not all the guidelines on Facebook will be similar to those of Instagram. Moreover, you cannot use Personal Timelines to administer promotions.
However, many people unknowingly or intentionally do not abide by the rules. They do not go through the terms and conditions.
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2. Reviews
Sites like Better Business Bureau, Amazon allow users to share their experiences and provide ratings for different businesses. This helps other customers decide whether they should purchase products or services. The business owners are wary of these review sites. However, a few may have pushed against the reviews by adding clauses into consumer contracts preventing the latter from making negative comments.
Thus, laws are put into action to prevent such actions from the business owners. In fact, California recently passed a law protecting the rights of consumers to leave bad online reviews.
3. Endorsements
When content creators write online about products and services, disclosure is of the utmost essence. If they received free items by a company or were paid to promote, then the bloggers, YouTubers should clearly state that. An initiative was taken by the Federal Trade Commission recently. The administrative body addressed this concern and revised its Endorsement Guides to include social media.
This was done to make sure that endorsements are honest. After all, the average audience should not be misled into buying fake products with their hard-earned money.
4. Photographs and Videos
There is a constant clash between Social media and the law when it comes to pictures that are being shared online. And the concern has increased in the past few years related to videos and audio. Who doesn’t like breathtaking landscape photos or wildlife photos? Not only do we wish to stare at them, but we also want to share them with our closed ones.
However, people do not realize that the pictures or the clips do not belong to them, and it has been created by someone else. Mostly people owned copyrighted photographs. You should try to find the source and seek permission before you use it in your content or share it. For example, copyrighted material owners request to have photos removed on Pinterest.Â
5. Employee Rights
This point is similar to the review point. Employers should not be hasty before deciding to fire employees based on negative comments on social media. As per the report on Nixon Peabody blog post, there was a recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The employee’s post wrongfully terminated by their employer for activity on Facebook.
So, measures are being adopted to grant the employees the right to express their opinion, even if they are associated with the company. And if they are fired on the basis of this action, then the employers have to justify the termination.
As you can see, there are plenty of loopholes in the platforms. And even if there are rules, people do not abide by it. Thus, the authorities need to strictly penalize the people or warn them if they are found to breach the terms and conditions.
Author Bio: Robert Smith is a social media analyst and academic counsellor working on behalf of a reputable firm in london, United Kingdom. He helps his clients reach their engagement targets on the platforms and make more sales in the process. At present, he is associated with MyAssignmenthelp.co.uk, where he is also taking care of computer engineering assignment help for the students in academic.