By Remy Raitt

“What a brand says online lays in the hands of social media managers,” says Dadic. “They are the voice of the brand. The brand therefore needs to educate their staff in the social media tools they are using.” Failing to put a social media strategy into employees’ contracts can land brands in trouble with the law or with a tarnished reputation. And because there are no specific social media laws set out in South Africa yet Dadic says there are plenty of grey areas to navigate.

Defamation

“South Africa hasn’t created a statute that deals with social media,” he says. “I think we will see them soon though. There is a worldwide outcry for it.” The fact that there have been a number of cases within our country that have seen employees dismissed due to social media misconduct emphasises this need.

Dadic says people usually land themselves in these sticky situations due to ignorance. “It’s vital the employees handling social media are aware of what can and can’t be said,” he says. “Primarily people are most ignorant that their comments, even if they were made in jest, can be construed as defamatory. People feel a sense of bravado behind their computer screens, that there won’t be repercussions, but actually things can be far worse when they are online. A face-to-face defamatory comment is limited to who saw or heard the comment being made, but on social media it is limitless, it could spread worldwide very quickly.”

“Generally the best thing to keep in mind, which has been said in numerous places, is that if you can’t say it to a person’s face then don’t say it on social media,” Dadic advises.

Dadic says another important fact to keep in mind is that defamation is subjective. Therefore social media managers need to remain conscious of their intended audiences as well as any other social media users who may come into contact with their posts. And this could be anyone online, so post with discretion.

“Social media also allows direct interaction so brands need to be careful. The lines of defamatory comment can be overstepped easily,” Dadic says. He says another big difference between social media and competitive advertising in other forms of media, is that “in social media you can attack your victim directly”.

And the more well-known the victim is, the bigger the repercussions of a defamatory post. Dadic says the general modus operandi when someone feels victimised on social media is to end harmful postings by ordering an interdict, which will prompt the court to restrain the offending person’s actions.

In situations taken to court, both the brand and the person posting their social media may be held accountable. These vicarious liability laws could see both the employer and employee being sued. Dadic says this further stresses the importance of having clearly defined social media strategies and policies in place.

Ideas of ownership

Another social media issue that is raising questions is the ownership of things like ideas, thoughts and images. “Just because these ideas or images are easily accessible does it mean brands should have access to them?” asks Dadic. He says it’s important that brands don’t step too far here by claiming publicly available content as their own.

“We don’t have social media laws in South Africa so we have to look at trademark laws which relate to invention,” he says. “There is very little that protects ideas or photos online, plus it is also difficult to quantify the value of an image. So this makes it difficult to sue.”

He says the underlying issue in situations like these is working out who that idea or image actually belongs to. It is still legally unclear if the person gave up ownership rights when they posted it online, but he says in cases like these courts will often looks at intellectual property laws.

While all South Africans hold the right to freedom of expression, our constitutional right to dignity must also be remembered. Social media platforms are increasingly seen as extensions of ourselves and Dadic says there needs to be more light shone of what is expected of people online. “People need to be aware that their words can really turn around and bite them,” he says.

For more information, visit www.dadic.co.za. Alternatively, connect with Dadic on Twitter.