Ethical Dilemmas and Social Media

      There are many ethical problems that we all come in contact with while using social media. Who or what do we trust? Should they be asking me this? If I answer will I get in trouble? These are many questions that arise when dealing with potential ethical dilemmas. 

     One of the biggest ethical dilemmas faced in social media is the online solicitation and reviews done for and about businesses. When a business ask you to write a review on their company, technically they are violating a code of ethics. It is unethical to ask someone to boost up your business in order to potentially gain something or win a prize. 

     Another ethical dilemma in social media is when you go to a companies webpage and want to get a first appointment or have an inquiry/question they make you fill out the questionnaire. Filling out that questionnaire is technically considered a break of ethics. By filling out the questionnaire your information is now out on the internet for a free for all to others looking to scam you. You also don't know if the company you are giving information to is an actual company or not.  

     In a perfect world it wouldn't be as easy to get scammed or be faced with ethical dilemmas, but this isn't a perfect world, and not all people are perfect. 

Trademarks and Copyrights also apply to social media

     Social media is a well known place to introduce and promote businesses. Many people use their social media platforms to speak about either their business or a business they are working for. Many people know about trademarks and copyrights, but most do not know that they still count in social media post. Most people when they have a song or lyrics on their profile they state something like "I do not have the rights to this", therefore implying that they do not want any action against them because they did not ask for permission to use either the song or lyrics. 

     Typically you are in violation of trademarks when their tends to be some confusion about where the product is coming from. If I was selling for a company, and I did not state who the company was or talked about the company, anyone on my social media could get confused about whether it was my business or if it was a business I was promoting but not stating. That could cause confusion and therefore I would be at risk for trademark infringement if the company wanted to press charges. 

       Copyrights are different in that they apply to works of art. You can have copyrights transferred to you, if you want to use those works of art on your social media. Most do not go through this step though. Hence the saying "I do not own the rights to this". It is never enough to just say give credit to so and so. 

     I feel like trademarking and copyrights are not something heard very often anymore in social media. When social media first emerged, people did not know what to do and when to do it. More and more influencers are on social media between different companies. I know that I have recently started with a company and I am still learning the ins and outs of what to do and say for the company and for myself as protection.

Slander within Social Media

      Social media has always been very concerning when it comes to slander, defamation and bullying. It is hard to know what rights you have when it comes to someone writing something ill about you on social media. State by state your rights regarding slander and defamation are different. 

     Social media can be a cruel world, and it sucks you in quickly. So many teens nowadays are becoming depressed, overwhelmed, and undervalued because of things said on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. When did it become okay to belittle someone through a message on social media, as the other hides behind the computer. Countless times I have seen first hand of younger adults wanting to harm and hurt themselves because of what someone has said about them. We live in a world where words matter and it is hard to sit ideally by and not be able to do anything. It leads to the question of what can we actually do, what are our rights?

     Does it make it easier to convict someone of slander and defamation if you are a public figure or just plain Jane like me? It should be equal in any case, and someone saying that they are exercising their right of freedom of speech should not seem to matter if the person is breaking down another. There are many websites you can go to that help if you feel that you are personally falling into attack by others on social media. 

     Although its hard to say whether your state would defend you in matters of slander and defamation on social media, Georgia's laws can be found at http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/georgia-defamation-law

     You can also look up other states laws about defamation to read up on more information and your rights in that state. 

Social Media and the Freedom of Information Act

    We start with the definition of what the Freedom of Information Act actually is. The Freedom of Information Act provides the public with the right to request the access of records from federal agencies and the government. Under the FOIA, government agencies must release the information that is requested by a person. So how does this pertain to social media?

   We all know that social media is becoming very widely used in the political world. Many politicians are using it to get their campaigns and messages across to millions upon thousands of people at a time. Not only can politicians use it for getting their words out to the public, they can use social media as a way of regulating or keeping track of different aspects of what is being said about government regulations. 

   You could say that since social media has become such a big presence in the past decade that realistically FOIA should go back and redraft their laws. Most FOIA laws that were drafted many many many years ago still apply to social media but may not actually make the most since when it comes to what it pertains to. Just like an email being federally regulated so is social media. 

   Social media and all that is on it, is FOIA regulated. If a post is put on a social media account of a politician or anyone in the government, that post is saved and can be pulled at any moment if requested by someone. Personally, I think that being able to request a government record at any point in time is a tremendous thing. Everyone should know that government post on social media can be requested, because I do believe some people don't know that information. In return though people need to also understand that their information can also be requested and looked at as well. We should all be weary of what we are putting on social media because once it is out on the web, it is out forever.