Media And The Law – April 2016

The ever evolving cyber world brings with it crimes and danger that need the enforcement of law. We take a look at the branch of law dealing with the social media scenario and how it’s in high demand today
As the world has digitized and grown increasingly inter-connected, hacking and other computer crimes have proliferated to a staggering extent. In response, governments and local prosecutors are moving more and more aggressively to punish those they accuse of computer crimes. This means that if you’ve been accused of such a crime, you could be facing significant fines and even a lengthy jail term. Section 66 (A), which prohibits the sending of information of a grossly offensive or menacing nature through computers and communication devices, has been used by several states to arrest people over posts on social media that officials claimed were seditious, communally sensitive or abusive. Most of these arrests were for posting controversial remarks or photos, while some were for sharing, commenting on or liking such posts. In one case in Jammu and Kashmir, a person was arrested merely for being tagged to a post on social media.

“Unlike many areas of practice, media law is a very broad church and covers broadcasting, publishing, music, film, television, digital media, advertising and marketing. Solicitors work on many matters at any one time and will get involved in contentious work, such as litigation around copyright disputes, libel or defamation issues. A hefty copyright dispute may last a few years from start to finish, meaning cases rarely reach trial unless they are business critical. Litigation teams usually include three to five lawyers: a partner; senior associate; associate; and trainee or paralegal. Lawyers juggle contentious work with non-contentious matters: such as drafting and advising on contracts, talent agreements and advertising agency agreements; and providing ‘clearance’ advice for a client who wants to know if they can use, say, a particular image or a music track”, says Paul Jordan, partner and head of the advertising and marketing department within the media practice at Bristows. Cybercrime is one of the greatest threats facing our country, and has enormous implications for our national security, economic prosperity, and public safety.

THE DUTIES OF A SOCIAL MEDIA LAWYER

* Overview of social and digital media and key terminology
* Identifying key areas of risk with social and digital media
* Operational risks
* IP and online infringement
* Privacy and confidentiality
* Monitoring, moderating and take down policies
* Online brand protection

We talk to Arjun Jayakumar, who is a part of Software Freedom Law Centre and whose areas of professional interest include technology law, intellectual property law, human rights law and constitutional law on what it means to specialize in social media law in today’s time

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TYPICAL SOCIAL MEDIA CASES THAT YOU DEAL WITH?
A large portion of the cases I deal with presently involve content removal requests made before social media platforms. There are several reasons why one might wish to remove content from platforms like blogs and review websites – allegations of defamation and Intellectual Property infringement being prime examples. These stated reasons may be legitimate in some cases, while in others, not so much. I also handle cases where law enforcement agencies request social media websites to hand over personal information belonging to its users as part of ongoing investigations. This is an extremely sensitive activity bearing great significance to the ideals of privacy and security, which means such requests must be handled strictly in accordance with the established procedure of law. Aside from the above, SFLC.in – the organization I work with – engages extensively in the development of law and policy surrounding the use of technology both domestically and globally. We produce periodic research reports and articles on relevant issues of import, organize and participate in policy discussions, and work with the nation’s lawmakers to ensure that our technology regulatory regime is just, fair, and reasonable.

WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF MAJORING IN SOCIAL MEDIA LAW IN TODAY’S TIME?
“Social media law” as a standalone topic isn’t a terribly popular field of study as of yet, and I doubt it ever will be. I say this because social media is only one small component of the larger technological revolution, and focusing legal education on one without the other might be untenable. However, the significance of social media within broader, more traditional domains such as Information Technology law has been on a steady rise. This surge in interest closely mirrors the explosive growth of social media itself in recent years, and the opportunities available to a specialized IT lawyer in today’s world are nothing short of tremendous. Most Indian law schools already offer courses on IT law as part of their curricula, sometimes as mandatory courses and at other times as optional electives. Post law school, the number of practicing lawyers who either deal exclusively with IT law or dabble in it as part of a larger general practice is also on the rise. Several major law firms have constituted dedicated policy teams that work around telecom and IT law, and the ever-increasing number of technology startups and corporations all require expert legal advice.

IS IT ADVISABLE FOR LAWYERS TO TAKE UP SOCIAL MEDIA AS PART OF THEIR WORK?
Certainly. The world as we know it is undergoing a process of rapid digitization, and connectivity is slowly becoming the norm. Many of us are already at a stage where life without the Internet is all but unimaginable. As more and more aspects of every-day life make the transition online, the need for an equitable technology regulatory regime has never been stronger. The legal community has a big role to play insofar as such regulation is concerned. With the increasing use of technology and social media comes an increasing number of previously unseen challenges and conflicts that call for the application of specialized legal acumen. Moreover, the blurring of boundaries between human interactions in the online and offline worlds will involve recalibrating existing civil and criminal laws to better suit this new and advanced medium.Suffice it to say that technology and social media are certain to storm our courts of law in a big way, as they already have in some respects, and the legal community would do well to be adequately prepared.

WHAT DOES ONE ASPIRING TO JOIN THIS FIELD NEED TO CONSIDER?
The most important thing for any aspirant I would say is to be mindful of the fact that a successful career in IT/social media law would also require a certain amount of familiarity with the underlying technologies themselves. This is something that too many people forget to mention too often. It would be impossible for instance to provide effective advice to a social media website on whether its encryption protocols are compliant with mandatory legal standards, if one doesn’t understand how encryption actually works. A working knowledge of the relevant principles would go a long way in simplifying your work.Aspirants should also consider clubbing their specialization with additional areas of specialization such as Intellectual Property law or telecommunications law, which frequently become relevant when dealing with technology regulation. As is the case with most other domains of legal practice, IT/social media law seldom functions in isolation and is more often than not intertwined with other disciplines. Specialization across all relevant fields would add considerable value to you as a lawyer and make your work that much more rewarding.

Volume 5 Issue 10