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Three quarters of us have Internet access at home, and a third go online via their mobile phones. Three in four UK internet users have a Facebook account but our research shows people still aren’t clear about what they can and can’t post, sell or download online.

Take our test to see how your fare against the average online user, pitting your knowledge of the law against nine scenarios you might come across everyday on the web.

Advice on staying legal online

To find out how to stay legal online read further advice on:

Are you at risk of becoming an Accidental Outlaw?

Are you at risk of becoming an Accidental Outlaw infographic

Defamation

Could what you say online make you an accidental outlaw?

In the UK, defamation laws date back at least 800 years, although obviously they have only been applied to online relatively recently. You can be liable under these laws for saying anything about someone that is likely to make anyone else think worse of them. Both libel and slander are types of defamation law. In specific cases there may be defences available, for example if the statement is true; if the statement was made in Parliament or in court, but a defamatory statement will be presumed to be false unless the defendant can prove that it’s true. Sometimes it is very hard to prove that what you said is true, particularly if you just repeated something that somebody else told you, or that you read online, or if you just re tweeted someone else’s tweet.

 

How can I stay out of trouble?

The simple advice is always make sure that what you say online is true. Journalists often go through a process of making a story “stand up”. This means they try to check that what they are saying is true with at least two difference sources. That is a good discipline to have online too. If in doubt say nowt. Here are more things to watch:

  1. It is often tempting to re-tweet rumours particularly about celebrities but they are likely to monitor their reputation online and you might have to justify the truth of what you say. Repeating what somebody else says on or offline is never likely to be a defence.
  2. Remember that even if you post anonymously it’s relatively easy to trace you. The person who thinks that they have been defamed can ask the Court to order the social media site to disclose your real identity.
  3. If you are using the internet to protest, for example against the activities of a particular company, make sure that what you say is fair and truthful. Companies are increasingly frustrated by what is said about them online and as well as defamation law most terms of service for social media sites will include a promise from you that what you say online is true. The risk then is not only that you could be sued but also that you could be denied access to these sites and your profile could be removed or suspended.
  4. Even if what you say is true be careful how you say it. It is generally not acceptable to lift trademarks or images from somebody else’s site to illustrate your story.
  5. You might also want to check your employment contract if you work for somebody, particularly if you are commenting on one of your rivals. Some employers understandably take a hard line with employees who comment on the financial strength or honesty of even their competitors.
  6. Be especially careful posting to Twitter or Facebook after a night out. Often you are less guarded then and less likely to check your facts.

 

Policing online defamation

Advances in technology have made it easier for people to damage the reputation of big business. Aggrieved employees, business rivals and others sometimes try to spread rumours about organisations to do them harm. The mainstream media often pick up online rumours, for example, the media stories following the “wikileaks” disclosures. They show that the lines between online and offline sources of information are becoming more blurred. The rise of online criticism means large companies spend money monitoring their reputation online and will take action over defamatory statements. 

Well-known individuals have also become used to having to manage their online reputation – from David Beckham having to say that his marriage is still intact to Britney Spears reassuring the world that hers is not.

The person defamed does not need to be based in the UK to bring proceedings here. It also does not have to be a UK based site for proceedings to be brought.

 

Cybersmearing

This is the smearing of an individual or company online and can take a number of different forms, including websites, message boards, email, and even on auction sites. In a case in 2006 The High Court in England heard the results of an online spat which went too far. A libel action was brought by Michael Keith-Smith, who was involved in an online debate about the war in Iraq during which he was subject to a number of insults. He ended up winning £10,000 in damages as a result.

 

Cybersmearing by Twitter

As the internet has enabled more of us to become publishers so the law of defamation has become more important to all of us. There have also been cybersmearing cases on Twitter. Perhaps the most well known is the reported settlement of around of £260,000 paid by the singer Courtney Love to her former stylist. Love and her stylist, Dawn Simorangkir fell out and Love tweeted about the fall out in March 2009 in some tweets and on her myspace blog. In another US case a landlord sued one of its tenants after she tweeted about the state of her flat. The landlord said that their business had suffered because of the comments that she made.

Intellectual Property

Don’t risk being an accidental outlaw with other people’s work

Intellectual Property (IP) is a general term for various legal rights including copyright, trademarks and patents. You can get into trouble with IP on the internet when downloading music or films, using someone else’s photographs or cutting and pasting text from someone else’s blog.

How can I stay out of trouble?

The simple advice is to make sure that you always respect other people’s IP rights on the internet. Specifically here are some things to watch:-

  1. If you are selling goods online (for example over eBay) make sure that they are the real deal. People who sell counterfeit goods online can go to jail.
  2. If you are downloading music or films or streaming them make sure that you are doing that from a legitimate site. If you don’t you might be infringing somebody else’s IP. You might also be opening the door for your computer to be attacked. Some film streaming sites in particular are just a front for people trying to compromise your security.
  3. If you want to use photographs on your site or social media profile, it is best to take them yourself or to get a friend to do that. Be careful if you are taking photographs from the internet, especially if you are going to use them for a business related purpose such as for an eBay sale or a PowerPoint presentation at work. There are various places where you can go on the internet to licence high quality images.
  4. Do not use someone else’s brand name on the internet unless you are sure it is okay to do that. Companies protect their brands online and offline and many of the biggest brand owners use sophisticated technology to search the internet regularly to see how people are using their trademarks online.
  5. Be sure to look at the terms and conditions for any site you go to for content. Sometimes the terms and conditions are quite detailed on what you can do with IP from the site. If you are going to use it make sure that you stick absolutely to the terms they impose.
  6. Just because everyone does it on the internet that it not a defence. There is no safety in numbers. If what you are doing is illegal you could get into trouble even if there are loads of other people doing it too.

 

Copyright

Copyright is the right of the creator of an original work (like a painting, a song or a photograph) to have exclusive rights to use their work usually for a limited time. This time can be quite long, for example in some cases for 70 years after the end of the year in which they die. In practice there is a lot of money to be made from licensing others to use a copyrighted work. For example, some well known pop figures make more money from licensing the songs that they have written than they do from performing. Some photographers have a regular income from licensing other people to use the photographs they have taken. As a result copyright protection is big business and around the world we have seen significant activity in the courts to protect the copyright of music and films in particular.

 

Trademarks

The other area of IP where we have seen a lot of enforcement on the internet is in the area of trademarks. Trademarks are distinctive signs used by a business to identify their products or services to consumers. You can register a trademark in the UK and that will give the trademark special protection. Unregistered trademarks can be protected too. To find out whether a name is protected you can search online at www.ipo.gov.uk 

In the UK the Trade Marks Act 1994 protects trademarks. It can be an offence to apply a trademark to goods if they could be mistaken as the goods of the trademark owner, such as stitching a label into t-shirt to make it look like it’s the real thing when it is not. It can also be a criminal offence to offer goods for sale, which are not the genuine article. On conviction, anyone who does this can be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. There are also powers to search premises and there is the possibility of a civil action from the trademark owner under the Act.

 

Downloading music online

If you are worried about downloading music online you could checkout The British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) website at www.bpi.co.uk.  They have a list of legitimate online music retailers. They also have a list of sites where you can legitimately download mobile ringtones. The recording industry has taken action against people who download music unlawfully. If you have already taken our test you will know about the case of Ann Muir, the Scottish grandmother, who was sentenced to three years probation in June 2011 for illegally downloading over £54,000 worth of music. She was the subject of a joint investigation by BPI and the International Federation for the Phonographic industry. Police arrested Muir after they searched her home, found computer equipment, and downloads including more than 24,000 karaoke files. She pleaded guilty to offences under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 which covers various criminal offences including making an illicit recording or possessing an illicit recording in the course of a business. The maximum prison sentence is 10 years.

 

Photographs online

Photographs are often protected by copyright too. Just because they are available on the internet does not mean to say that they are copyright free. Some of the big photographic stock agencies have huge libraries of photographs available online for a fee. The number of photographs online increases hugely each day. One company, Pixable estimated that at the end of 2010 there was 60 billion photographs on Facebook alone and they predict that the numbers is now over 100 billion photographs. Last New Year’s Eve weekend they estimate that over 750 million photographs were posted on Facebook alone. Because photography is still relatively new, the majority of photographs ever taken are still in copyright. You need to be very careful when you using copyright images, particularly if you are using them for business purposes, as you might well be breaching somebody’s copyright. There has been legal action, in some cases where photographers have sued the person who commissioned the photographs for an extra royalty when the photographs went online. This is something to watch out for especially with things like wedding photographs where the agreement with the photographer might have been for offline use only.

 

Text

Be aware that written articles online can also be protected by copyright. Cutting and pasting someone else’s work and passing it off as your own can get you into trouble if you do not give the proper accreditation. Some universities use sophisticated tools to check essays, so even if there is not an online version you could get into trouble for plagiarism even if the original copyright owner does not object. Many people actually do not mind you linking to the stuff they put on the internet or cutting and pasting a section if you ask them first. It is always safer to ask their consent and make sure you stick to any terms they impose.

Social media - top tips to stay legal online

Follow our top tips to help stay on the right side of the law when using social media.

  1. When you log-on to Facebook, don’t let your common sense log-off! A status update or tagged photo that seems like a harmless prank could have unpleasant consequences.
  2. Just because everyone else is Tweeting about a topic doesn’t mean it’s legal to do so – if there’s any doubt, it’s best to say nowt!
  3. Think about how a content creator would feel about your use of their work– whether you are blogging it online or downloading unlicensed MP3s from the web. If you wouldn’t be happy with people doing it with your content, there’s a good chance they feel the same way.
  4. If you are going to post something negative about someone online, be absolutely sure it is true before you click “update”
  5. Don’t Tweet, BBM or post “jokes” online that might be seen to encourage people to do something illegal or violent!

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