Social media and user-generated content


Published by a ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû TMT expert
Practice notes

Social media and user-generated content


Published by a ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû TMT expert

Practice notes
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This Practice Note examines some of the key risks associated with a brand’s usage of Social media and user-generated content (UGC). Its particular focus is on the potential infringement of third party rights, such as intellectual property (IP). It provides practical guidance on how parties engaged in such activities can mitigate those risks.

Social media

Social media is an extremely popular means of communicating online. Based on user participation and interaction, social media takes a variety of forms, including:

  1. •

    online social and business networking (eg Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram)

  2. •

    online blogs (eg Twitter (now X), Blogger.com)

  3. •

    online forums (eg Mumsnet, Reddit)

  4. •

    online shops and auctions (eg eBay, Amazon)

  5. •

    online digital media sharing (eg YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, TikTok)

  6. •

    online reference texts (eg Wikipedia)

  7. •

    online games and applications (eg World of Warcraft)

User-generated content

Increasingly, businesses are encouraging consumers to contribute material to social media platforms and are incorporating these contributions into consumer-focused advertising and marketing campaigns. Often, this might involve contributions to a brand’s page on (for example) Facebook,

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Social media definition
What does Social media mean?

Internet-based platforms which allow for interactions between individuals or the broadcast of content to the wider world and which are far more interactive than traditional broadcast media.

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