Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Social media definition

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...

UK legal risks and compliance for brands using social media and user-generated content: IP, data protection, defamation, trade marks, moderation and take-down strategies

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Practice notes

This Practice Note explores key risks arising from a brand’s Use of Social media and user-generated content (UGC). It focuses in particular on the risk of infringing third-party rights, including intellectual property (IP). It also offers practical guidance to help those engaging with UGC reduce these risks.

Social media

Social media is a hugely popular way to communicate online. Driven by participation and interaction, it appears in many formats, including:

online social and professional networking (eg Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram)
online blogs (eg Twitter (now X), Blogger.com)
online forums (eg Mumsnet, Reddit)
online shops and auctions (eg eBay, Amazon)
online digital media sharing (eg YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, TikTok)
online reference texts (eg Wikipedia)
online games and applications (eg World of Warcraft)

User-generated content

More and more, businesses invite consumers to add material to social platforms and weave these contributions into customer-facing advertising and marketing initiatives.

This may involve contributions to a brand’s page on, for example, Facebook, or a particular advertising campaign run on the brand’s own platform, or on a different one. Social media content submitted by consumers is...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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