On November 14th, Dr. Paul Gates came and spoke privacy and the regulations that comes along with it in the media.
Dr. Gates first started out with one of his own personal thoughts, and that is the the action in social media isn't up to par for a legal level. What we need to think about now with our generation and how fast social media is growing, is that we have to identify the problem ourselves. Along with that, whenever we identify a problem, if we are the ones to post it, we are giving the ability to anyone to publish again. There is a legal dynamic with consent through technology and liability issues.
When we talk and concentrate about social media and privacy, we have to remind ourselves that we are allowing ourselves to be tracked. Even though we are aware that our phones are literally tracking devices, we tend to know acknowledge it as much.
A topic that was very informational for me was when Dr. Gates started talking about the Operation Infection, which was a three part article from the New York Times. Here, he informed us about the Russian disinformation and the propaganda that they made and used. Although the Operation Infection was more recent, the tactic of the Russian propaganda is not, which was very interesting to me. In 1983, the Russians had released information that AIDS were cooked in the military labs of American soldiers. This was to target gays and minorities, and surprisingly, it worked. What is even crazier is that people still believe this to this day.
Another topic that caught me by surprise was the concept of cat fishing. Basically, Dr. Gates described this as identity theft. Even if someone is using your picture, if they aren't doing any harm to you or your reputation, nothing can be done legally with cat fishing.
Last but not least, Dr. Gates informed us about legal concerns with social media for companies, organizations, or businesses. The biggest and most important thing for social media use is to not get the company sued. As someone who manages the social media accounts, we can't do anything that will invite a legal complication into the business. Being as honest as possible is key, but don't be manipulative as an intention. Misrepresentation, false advertising, and claims are also a big compartment to social media. With this, companies can be asked to test their products if there are claims. Mainly, the biggest thing is to maintain a good image and to defend the good reputation of a business.
Comments