Insider Media Limited

All answers are for general guidance only. Each case must be handled on the individual facts.

Q: What legal issues should a business be aware of surrounding its social media strategy?

The most important thing for businesses to remember when looking at social media and its impact on them is that, in the majority of cases there will always be an impact.

What is frowned or sued upon offline will be just as punishable online. Strategies on the use of third party IP and protection of proprietary IP in the digital world, an awareness of defamation and advertising law along with an appreciation of how "social" your employees are in and outside the office (and what they say about you online) are now as important as your Terms and Conditions.

Whether you "tweet", "poke" or "flog" or not doesn’t mean you can ignore the fact that other people do. Any business which communicates with the outside world (as well as those that don’t) needs to get up to speed with the evolving communications landscape and the legal rules around it.

Steve Kuncewicz, solictor specialising in IP, commerce and technology at HBJ Gateley Wareing