Digital Law and Social Networks
The debate between digital law and social networks: What is digital law? What happens on Facebook and Instagram
The use of social networks in companies business models is becoming more and more popular. That’s why digital law is so important. The Internet, with the arrival of new technologies, has given a 180-degree spin to communication systems. Consumer habits and needs have changed, which has affected the publicity of the products and services of the companies.
Likewise, with social networks, businesses find new channels for the promotion and sale of their products, achieving a more active and participative target audience, which allows them to understand better their own market.
That is, the traditional consumer is now more active: proposes, recommends and participates. Therefore, more than ever, online marketing companies which carry out actions through social networks and the Internet, need legal advice to protect their online reputation against possible negative impacts on their brand and image.
Currently the social networks most used by companies are Facebook and Instagram and, obviously, these channels are subject to the current regulation of digital law.
What is digital law?
Undoubtedly, digital law was born as a response to the urgent need to have legal regulations for all activities related to the communication society. This is the set of rules that regulate the rights and obligations of both companies and users, in relation to advertising campaigns, online marketing, as well as the promotion of products and / or services offered through the Internet.
Nowadays in the digital environment there are new concepts which have given rise to the sectors of social media compliance, e-commerce legal advice, startup lawyers. Currently there is greater protection in electronic commerce, especially with the regulatory changes in Europe, which give a lot of power to users.
In addition, and user’s protection, the current regulations also require companies that are adapted to the new GDPR and the E-Privacy regulation.
What happens on Facebook?
This medium has gone from being an innocent site for Harvard students to become the main online medium, of the exchange of entertainment information, generator of trends and fashions.
In March 2017 Facebook announced an update to its privacy policies, to prohibit third parties from using personal data from its platform for commercialization, but this news contrasts with the recent fine received months later (September 2017) by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection, of 1.2 million Euros, for serious infractions in data processing.
Even so, Facebook, with digital law on social networks as a backup, has just reacted by informing that it will give priority to personal information over companies, taking into account the criticisms they have received, according to its founder and current CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, because the public content of brands is beginning to overlap the personal information of users. These changes in Facebook limit the strategies in social networks of companies that use this type of advertising channels, as they will have more difficulty to visualize their contents and get more interaction from users.
What happens on Instagram?
To understand what happens on Instagram, the second social network with the greatest participation, it is necessary to point out that the current owner of this social network is Facebook since 2012. It has more than 700 million users globally and its reach could exceed one billion people in 2018.
On Instagram, which focuses its activity on photographs, videos and the power of image over information, more than 90% of the best brands in the world are present. When you publish information about your company in this medium, you grant a license to use your content.
Letslaw
Respect copyright, the original content, with legal advice on online matter. This is the secret to prevent companies from facing situations that adversely affect their business, as well as their online reputation.
In Letslaw we provide advice with commitment, security and closeness.
Letslaw es una firma de abogados internacionales especializada en el derecho de los negocios.