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Social media meaning

What does Social media mean?
In legal practice, social media describes internet-based services that allow users to create, publish, share and interact with content and with each other, often in real time and at scale (for example, social networks, microblogs, forums, blogs, messaging services with group/public features, and video-sharing platforms), as opposed to one-way broadcast media. The term is descriptive rather than a defined statutory term. Regulation is framed through related concepts, including in the UK the Online Safety Act 2023 (covering user-to-user and search services) and the video-sharing platform regime under the Communications Act 2003 (as amended), and in Ireland the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022. Ofcom (UK) and Coimisiún na Meán (Ireland) oversee relevant compliance. Key legal issues include defamation, privacy/misuse of private information, data protection and UK GDPR/GDPR compliance, harassment and hate speech, contempt of court, intellectual property, advertising and consumer protection (CAP/ASA in the UK; ASAI in Ireland), employment and disciplinary matters, and disclosure and evidence in litigation and regulatory investigations. Liability and duties vary between users, advertisers and platform operators, depending on their role, knowledge, moderation and hosting functions, and applicable intermediary liability regimes. Usage of the term is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland,...
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View the related Checklists about Social media

CHECKLISTS
Arbitrators’ Cybersecurity and Data Protection Checklist: Legal and Technical Guidance, GDPR/NIS 2 Considerations, and Procedural Orders from Pre-Appointment through Evidence, Hearing, Award and Post-Award

The Checklist seeks to outline the principal actions that arbitrators should consider across the entire course of a proceeding, beginning with appointment and the first procedural order and ending with delivery of the award and completion of their obligations. It offers direction on the types of provisions that may feature in procedural orders addressing data security throughout the duration and lifespan of an arbitration. Please be mindful, in light of the evolving cybersecurity ecosystem and applicable laws and regulations, that this is not an exhaustive catalogue. Rather, the checklist functions as guidance on best practice and clarifies the considerations that may arise at each milestone. Arbitration phase: pre-appointment of the Tribunal Legal Steps Safeguard your digital identity so you are seen as independent and impartial, notwithstanding the difficulties posed by an online presence. Refer to: Checklist for Arbitrators on the Use of Social Media and the Duty of Impartiality—the cybersecurity approach to arbitration. Technical Steps Adopt appropriate cybersecurity practices...

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CHECKLISTS
Online brand protection: checklist for trade mark registrations, compliance and licensing, monitoring (including AI), counterfeits, platform takedowns, evidence, and enforcement against sellers, marketplaces, ISPs, and via customs and social media.

This checklist sets out the main points to consider when shaping an online brand protection strategy. Use it alongside the Practice Note: Brand protection online—strategy. Protecting the brand Have you established the right safeguards? Have you secured suitable trade mark and other relevant registrations? Is there a global filing and enforcement plan to avoid issues in first-to-file countries? Are you tracking unauthorised activity? (see below for details) Have you set enforcement criteria to prioritise particular infringements? Are you ready to act swiftly through take-down procedures? Have you ensured official brand sites maintain a strong online presence? Are you leveraging technological advances to make authentic items harder to copy? Do you maintain good working relationships with customs and law enforcement agencies? Do third parties know the business will rigorously protect its brands? Do you have robust compliance measures in place? Do you publish a website IP notice that makes third parties aware...

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CHECKLISTS
UK digital marketing campaigns: legal compliance checklist (DMCCA 2024, CAP Code, UK GDPR, PECR 2003, OSA 2023)

How to use this Checklist Use this Checklist when mapping out a digital marketing campaign. The emphasis is on marketing‑specific requirements, and it does not deal with general matters connected to transactional activity (eg contract formation and distance selling). It spans media selection, territorial targeting, agency contracts and agreements, data protection and safeguarding, advertising compliance, user‑generated content and material, influencer engagement and partnerships, prize and price promotions, and behavioural advertising. It also looks at adherence to the legislative and self‑regulatory regime in the UK, including the unfair commercial practices provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024) and the UK Code of Non‑broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). Digital marketing can reach consumers at home, at work and, via their mobiles, tablets and video game consoles, almost everywhere else. Alongside unrivalled potential audience numbers, it gives brands the chance to target individuals on the basis of their specific interests, locations or habits. It is no surprise, then, that brands are moving...

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View the related News about Social media

NEWS
Corporate update: FRC guidance on UK Stewardship Code 2026, ESRS ‘quick fix’ deferral, director duties ruling, ECCTA identity verification, plus key dates, trackers and practice note updates—13 November 2025

In this issue: Corporate governance Environmental, social and governance issues Directors Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Corporate governance FRC publishes report to support transition to UK Stewardship Code 2026 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued ‘Preparing for the UK Stewardship Code 2026: Applying insights from current reporting’ to support signatories as they move to the refreshed Code, which comes into force on 1 January 2026. The publication offers pragmatic guidance and examples of high-quality disclosures to help asset owners, asset managers and service providers align with the Code’s simplified reporting framework. Under the 2026 Code, a dual reporting approach applies: a Policy and Context Disclosure must be lodged every four years, complemented by an annual Activities and Outcomes Report showing how the Principles are put into practice. The FRC’s paper also explores areas including engagement disclosures, the selection and oversight of external managers,...

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NEWS
Commercial law weekly: ASA rulings, Meta data dominance claim, waiver/rectification and liability caps, product safety reform, failure to prevent fraud guidance, bill of lading damages, fuel price monitoring

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts Data protection Sale and supply of goods Supplier management LexTalk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers ASA rulings—6 November 2024 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received two complaints about CurrencyWave and Eurostar. Complainants said CurrencyWave’s ad wrongly implied Financial Conduct Authority regulation and used inaccurate price comparisons. For Eurostar, concerns were that Instagram and Facebook ads overstated the availability of £39 fares and omitted key information. The ASA upheld both. See: LNB News 06/11/2024 51. ASA publishes its Vaping Project Review on vaping ads targeted at under-18s The ASA has issued its Vaping Project Review, detailing outcomes from investigations, tech-assisted monitoring, enforcement, stakeholder engagement and advisory work on ads aimed at under-18s since June 2023. It found influencers, companies, agencies and vaping brands posting paid and organic content, plus brand...

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NEWS
Ireland: Auto-enrolment/MyFutureFund - hindering risks, data protection cautions and 3.5% qualifying scheme minimum from 2026; employers to review exemption strategies

MyFutureFund The State’s new automatic retirement savings scheme, ‘MyFutureFund’, has attracted significant media attention over the past week. While AE is due to commence within the next few weeks, the principal catalyst is that the Department of Social Protection (the Department) has recently sent letters to various organisations cautioning about the risk of employers ‘hindering’ staff from joining MyFutureFund. Specifically, the Department stated that compulsory enrolment into a company pension scheme, where this is not an explicit contractual term and only modest employer contributions (for example, 1%) are payable, would be treated by the Department as an offence of hindering. These communications have sparked engagement with the Department by employer representative groups and stakeholders across the Irish pensions sector, including the Irish Association of Pension Funds (the IAPF). From that engagement it is evident that employers whose strategy is built on all employees being in exempt employment, and therefore outside the auto-enrolment regime, will need to revisit—swiftly—the practicality and lawfulness of that approach over the coming weeks...

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View the related Practice Notes about Social media

PRACTICE NOTES
UK B2C telephone (live/automated) and postal direct marketing: compliance under PECR, UK GDPR and DMCCA 2024, with TPS/MPS screening and self-regulatory codes

This Practice Note serves as a practical ‘how to’ for delivering a compliant B2C telephone and print direct marketing campaign, and points you to relevant materials. It distils the key principles and legal rules governing direct marketing, and explains how they affect print and telephone activity. It also offers hands-on advice on the steps and issues to weigh up before dispatching marketing mailings or placing marketing calls to consumers. Given the variety of routes available for a direct marketing initiative, different legal considerations may arise depending on the campaign’s design, the copy used, the exact media chosen and the jurisdictions in scope. This Practice Note does not cover digital forms of direct marketing, such as social media advertising, mobile and virtual advertising. For a ‘how to’ on running a compliant direct marketing campaign in a digital setting, see Practice Note: How to run a compliant direct marketing campaign—digital. What is direct marketing? ‘Direct marketing’ means the communication, by any method, of advertising or marketing material directed at...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK Digital Services Tax (FA 2020): scope, in‑scope activity definitions, UK user attribution, calculation and safe harbour, cross‑border reliefs, anti‑avoidance, and Pillar One transition uncertainty

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the future withdrawal of DST : Following OECD-led talks that produced a political accord on a two‑pillar solution in October 2021, the UK reached an understanding with the US, Austria, France, Spain and Italy to move away from DST towards the new global tax regime, using a transitional DST credit system. Under the arrangement, the UK would retain DST receipts until Pillar One became operational and, once in force, companies could credit against future UK corporation tax the difference between DST paid from January 2022 and the amount that would have arisen had Pillar One applied instead. In exchange, the US, which regards digital services taxes as discriminatory towards US companies, agreed to withdraw proposed retaliatory tariffs on certain US imports from the other five countries, and undertook not to pursue additional trade measures against those states because of their digital services taxes until the interim period concluded. This understanding was subsequently extended by all six countries to 30 June 2024, from an original end...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK book and journal publishing law: practical guide to IP, contracts, data protection, competition, moral rights, collecting societies, AI, distribution, open access, orphan works and secondary markets

The publishing industry This Practice Note outlines the legal and contractual landscape governing the publishing sector, while introducing key commercial and technological considerations. Publishers deliver content in multiple formats and for differing aims and readerships. Traditionally, the field splits between: trade publishers serving a general or consumer market; and other publishers concentrating on educational, academic, professional or scientific, technical, and medical audiences. In reality, these categories can overlap and intersect with adjacent industries, a trend accelerated by the evolution of digital media—for instance, convergence between newspaper and magazine publishing and the broadcasting and audiovisual arenas. There has also been discussion about whether social media and other online platforms ought, as a legal matter, to be regarded as ‘publishers’. Nevertheless, this Practice Note concentrates on conventional book and journal publishing, in both print and digital forms, encompassing e-books, websites, apps, databases and other online offerings (collectively described here, for simplicity, as ‘products’ unless stated otherwise). The publishing industry is an important contributor to the UK economy. According to the Publishers...

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View the related Precedents about Social media

PRECEDENTS
Precedent content and trade mark licence for website, app and social media (pro-licensee) (England and Wales)

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ]. Parties [ Insert name of licensor ], a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] under number [ insert registered number ] whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (Licensor); and [ Insert name of licensee ], a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ] under number [ insert registered number ] whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (Licensee), Each of the Licensor and the Licensee is a party, and together the Licensor and the Licensee constitute the parties. Background The Licensee is [ insert details of the Licensee’s background/background to licence or relevant transaction. ] The Licensor has agreed to provide the Licensor Content to the Licensee and to grant the Licensee a licence to use the Licensor Content in accordance with the terms of this Agreement...

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PRECEDENTS
Precedent Film Crew Member Services Letter Agreement (Freelance; Independent Contractor) with IP Assignment, Confidentiality and Data Protection — England and Wales

From: [ insert name of production company ] at [ insert address ] (the Producer) To: [ insert name ] at [ insert address ] (you) Date: [ date ] Dear [ insert name ] We write to record the agreement between you and the Producer for your services, which will be provided under the terms and conditions detailed below. In this letter, Personal Data refers to any details about a living person that enable identification, whether directly or indirectly, notably by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or to one or more elements specific to that individual’s physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity. 1 Engagement 1.1 The Producer retains you and, in consideration of the Producer’s undertakings set out in paragraph 3, you agree to supply the Producer with your services as a [ specify capacity ] (Services) in connection with [ insert name of production ] (the...

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PRECEDENTS
Social media law and compliance: customisable training slides for in-house and law firm legal teams covering marketing, data protection, defamation, IP, privacy, HR policies and crisis management

These social media training materials comprise template PowerPoint slides that may act as the foundation for one or more training seminars addressing issues that arise in connection with social media. It is expected that those delivering training will use these slides as a practical starting point for their presentations, and then tailor them as appropriate to reflect their specific circumstances. The training resources are customisable. Click the link below to download the training presentation...

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