Tag archives: Social media

Words on social media must be read in conversational context

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on June 9, 2019 Posted in General

Extraordinarily, the English Supreme Court had to decide whether the words ‘he tried to strangle me’ used on a Facebook post by a woman regarding her ex-husband meant that ‘he tried to kill me’ and damaged his reputation, hence the defamation claim. The lower court, after an analysis of dictionary meanings of the word ‘strangle’, … Continue reading

Facebook users beware – you are your brother’s keeper

By Kerri Gevers (SG) and Daniel Chappel on April 14, 2015 Posted in General

Social media users may be responsible for comments made by others and published on their pages which amount to hate speech or harassment. South African courts have already addressed the issue of responsibility for third parties’ comments in Isparta v Richter, where the court found that a Facebook user was liable for defamation based on … Continue reading

Who owns your Instagram content?

By Nerushka Bowan on February 2, 2015 Posted in General

You do (at least as between you and Instagram—your employer may have ownership rights in certain situations)! Instagram does not claim ownership of any content that you post. You do grant Instagram very broad license rights: a non-exclusive, fully-paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use content that you post. This license grant means … Continue reading

What does LinkedIn’s updated privacy policy mean for you?

By Nerushka Bowan on October 31, 2014 Posted in General

You are responsible for your information. It is important to understand how your information is being used. LinkedIn updated their privacy policy and user agreement on 23 October 2014. It is easier to read and understand in comparison to earlier versions. If you read through the policy it will give you an understanding of the … Continue reading

Social media: what happens to your account when you die?

By Nerushka Bowan on August 28, 2014 Posted in General

Will you instruct your executor to memorialise or close your Facebook account or will you sign up to DeadSocial to post goodbye messages posthumously? The US government has created guidelines for dealing with your digital afterlife. It also provides a template social media will. The US government’s first guideline is to read the terms and … Continue reading

Social media: what happens when you delete your account?

By Nerushka Bowan on June 18, 2014 Posted in General

When you delete your Twitter account: You need to deactivate your account using your account settings. Your account should be deactivated within a few minutes, but some content may be viewable for a few days. Data is only retained for 30 days from date of deactivation after which it is deleted. Twitter retains its licence … Continue reading

Social media: did you know?

By Nerushka Bowan on March 18, 2014 Posted in General

We’ve broken it down for you. How many of us actually read social media terms of use? Be wary: you allow public information to be accessible over public search engines. When you tweet you: Grant Twitter a licence to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute content in any manner or … Continue reading