Social media and libel law

Abstract

Thanks to broadband capabilities and rapid improvements in technology, the Internet is now available to billions of people across the globe, and social media sites - like Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs - have garnered hundreds of millions of users. With the exponentially increasing importance of social media in everyday activities, as well as major world events, the legal aspects of these mediums are also becoming significant. The topic of libel law and its place within the realm of social media is emerging as one of the main areas of concern, as lawsuits for defamatory statements made on these sites are becoming more common. Through research in media and law and with the help of three expert sources, predictions about the path social media and libel will follow have been set forth: law will need to adapt and citizens will need to take more responsibility for their posts.