As research continues to accumulate on the connections between media and crime, #Crime explores the impact of social media on the criminal legal system. It examines how media influences our perceptions of crime, the perpetration of crime, and the implementation of punishment, whilst emphasizing the significance of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. It offers an accessible and in-depth examination of media and in each chapter there are case studies and examples from both legacy and new media, including discussions from Twitter that are being used to raise awareness of criminal legal issues. It also includes interviews with international scholars and practitioners from Australia, Belgium, and the United States to voice a range of global perspectives. This book speaks broadly to those interested in criminology, criminal justice, media and culture, sociology, and gender studies.

Utilising Lon Fuller’s conception of legality, this book argues that current legal provisions often used to control online abuse aided by social media do not conform to the basic principles of legality in the criminal law, in turn, threatening freedom of expression. How we regulate inappropriate behaviour online, often referred to as online abuse, particularly online abuse aided by social media, is a contemporary concern for governments across the globe. Tragedies, such as the death of a celebrity following a campaign of online abuse, often hit the headlines, followed by the same echo: there should be a law against this. Yet, in England and Wales, numerous laws exist to control, prosecute, and convict individuals who use the likes of social media to harass, intimidate, and abuse others online. So why is the law failing to keep pace with modern technology? This monograph critically examines this fundamental question, from the perspective of legality. Applying criminal law to three growing areas of concern, it covers: (1) racist speech, (2) cyberharassment/cyberstalking, and (3) the sending of abusive messages online. It then turns to examine the latest attempts by UK officials to tackle these issues through the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 and France’s, Germany’s, and India’s attempts to regulate social media. The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of criminal law and cyber law, as well as online abuse, harassment, and discrimination.

Social media has transformed how the world communicates. Its impact has been felt in every corner of our society including the law. Social Media Law in a Nutshell is a wide-ranging look of how the social media transformation has impacted various legal fields. From marketing to employment to torts to criminal law to copyright and beyond, virtually every legal field has been changed by social media. By looking at high level concerns and example cases, Social Media Law in a Nutshell attempts to give practitioners exposure to social media issues and concerns so they can better advise clients and approach the new social media world with their legal eyes opened to new and old risks alike. This book can also serve as a text for law professors looking to expose law students to the burgeoning area of Social Media Law. The second addition covers new cases, regulations, and guidance from government regulators in the social media space.

Billions of minutes a month are spent globally on social media. This raises not only serious legal issues, but also has a clear impact on everyday commercial activity. This book considers the significant legal developments that have arisen due to social media. It provides an expert explanation of the issues that practitioners and businesses need to consider, as well as the special measures that are required in order to minimise their exposure to risk. The content is highly practical, and not only explores the law related to social media, but also includes useful aids for the reader, such as flow charts, checklists and case studies. Various categories and channels of social media are covered in this book, alongside the legal classification of different social networks. Social media is also considered in the context of human rights law by evaluating the implications this has had upon the development of civil and criminal law when pursuing a civil remedy or criminal prosecution in relation to online speech. As part of these discussions the book deals specifically with the Defamation Act 2013, the Communications Act 2003, the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Contempt of Court Act 1988 among other key issues such as seeking Injunctions and the resulting privacy implications. Finally, the author also pays careful consideration to the commercial aspects raised by social media. The reader will find reference to key cases and regulatory guidance notes and statutes including, the Data Protection Act 1998 (including the draft Data Protection Regulation), user privacy, human rights, trading and advertising standards, special rules for FCA regulated bodies and social media insurance. This book is an invaluable guide for private practice and in-house practitioners, business professionals, academics and post-graduate students involved in the law surrounding social media.

Many lawyers view social media as a passing fad, but lawyers who dismiss social media do so at their peril. This cutting-edge guide shows lawyers how to use a practical, goal-centric approach to social media. By enabling lawyers to identify the social media platforms and tools that fit their practice, lawyers can implement them easily, efficiently, and ethically. Written by two lawyers, this book is designed with both the novice and advanced user in mind.

Social media enables instant access to individual self-expression and the sharing of information. Social media issues are boundless, permeating distinct legal disciplines. The law has struggled to adapt and for good reason: how does the law regulate this medium over the public/private law divide? This book engages with the legal implications of social media from public and private law perspectives and outlines how the law, in various legal sub-disciplines and with varying success, has endeavoured to adapt existing tools to social media.

How is social media changing contemporary understandings of crime and injustice, and what contribution can it make to justice-seeking? Abuse on social media often involves betrayals of trust and invasions of privacy that range from the public circulation of intimate photographs to mass campaigns of public abuse and harassment using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, 8chan and Reddit – forms of abuse that disproportionately target women and children. Crime, Justice and Social Media argues that online abuse is not discontinuous with established patterns of inequality but rather intersects with and amplifies them. Embedded within social media platforms are inducements to abuse and harass other users who are rarely provided with the tools to protect themselves or interrupt the abuse of others. There is a relationship between the values that shape the technological design and administration of social media, and those that inform the use of abuse and harassment to exclude and marginalise diverse participants in public life. Drawing on original qualitative research, this book is essential reading for students and scholars in the fields of cyber-crime, media and crime, cultural criminology, and gender and crime.