In response to the widespread panic caused by fictitious tweets posted during Hurricane Sandy many began to call for criminalizing tweets or otherwise dispersing false information through social media. Others responded by condemning such a notion as extreme. It is apparent from a brief survey of other countries around the world that the United States isn’t the only country grappling with the issue of how to police the social media world. For example, India’s Supreme Court recently demanded answers after two women were arrested over Facebook posts. One woman was arrested for criticizing the fact that the city of Mumbai was, in effect, shut down for a state funeral, which 2,000,000 mourners attended, while the other woman was arrested for liking the comment. Following the arrests and subsequent public outcry, the Indian government has issues new guidelines making it harder to arrest people based on social media posts. These guidelines make strides at protecting freedom of expression, as in the past, arrests have stemmed from:

• Drawing cartoons that mocked of corruption in the Indian government

• Forwarding email jokes that caricatured a government official

• Tweeting criticisms about government officials or their families

Even the United Kingdom has seen an increasing number of prosecutions and convictions in the past few years based on social media posts. For example, a teenager (@Rileyy69) was arrested for tweeting: “You let your dad down I hope you know that” to Olympic diver Tom Daley, whose father had died of brain cancer the year before, after Daley missed out on a medal and coming in fourth. The teenager, who had since apologized, was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications. In another incident, a man who, upset over missing a flight due to airport closure, jokingly tweeted that he would “blow the airport sky high”, was convicted and fined. While his conviction was later overturned, these cases demonstrate the reality of the threat on freedom of expression. Accordingly, the British government has also implemented new guidelines making it more difficult to prosecute cases against people who post offensive messages on social media, unless it is “necessary and proportionate.” “These interim guidelines are intended to strike the right balance between freedom of expression and the need to uphold the criminal law,” said Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions.

Based on the rapid evolution of social media in everyday life, it seems as though it is only a matter of time before clear guidelines will need to be established in the United States regarding policing social media.

Sources: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57556397/india-court-questions-arrests-for-facebook-post/ http://www.cbsnews.com/

For more information, please visit our social media law service page.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution.  Additional information about the IP law firm and its IP law attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

Klemchuk LLP hosts Culture Counts, a blog devoted to the discussion of law firm culture and corporate core values with frequent topics about positive work environment, conscious capitalism, entrepreneurial management, positive workplace culture, workplace productivity, and corporate core values.