Proliferation of social media is changing us, raising interesting questions for lawmakers/policy makers/educators and parents alike.  With 400 million active users (the size of a small country) – and changing so fast – many of the legal issues with social networking such as Facebook are still relatively unsettled, but here are 5 Rules that are easily broken that could legally get you into trouble and how to fix it or rectify the situation.

Rule #1 Don’t Name-Call

Be kind, be positive, don’t name-call.

Avoid defamatory content: making harmful false statements about someone else

If you post defamatory content about another person you could be liable, under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Even though the site is not!

WHY IT’S EASY RULE TO BREAK – A BAD JOKE GONE TOO FAR:

Three cases of students suffering criminal charges or adverse consequences at their schools as a result of allegedly defamatory, threatening or indecent messages posted on social networking sites.

In Indiana, a student under 18 posted expletive-filled comments on a fake MySpace page purporting to belong to a former middle school principal. The principal reported the site to the authorities, and the student was declared a "juvenile delinquent" by a juvenile court after the judge found that the comments constituted criminal harassment. In 2 other cases, the school's punishments against students for creating fake MySpace pages in the names of their respective principals were upheld.

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES:

Information posted on sites such as Facebook and MySpace have been utilized to prosecute users of these Web sites.

Consequences include:
• Suspension for violating school rules
• juvenile detention in the case of minors,
• damages awarded to the injured person
• Facebook can remove any content or information you post if we believe that it infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law.

WHAT TO DO:
Posts are ‘permanent’ – if you’ve posted something that could be misconstrued as offensive and you’re worried about it, probably email Facebook to take it down.

Post a reversal – take away intent.

If your friends do this, encourage them to do the same.

Rule #2  Be a True Friend, Not a Fool

Facebook users want to have fun, but be true to who you are. When you sign up for Facebook you are agreeing to:

1. Not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.

2. Not use Facebook if you are under 13.

3. You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.

WHY IT’S EASY RULE TO BREAK – playing with your identity is part of the appeal

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES:

Many states are passing laws that create obligations to verify a user's age. Any fraud or circumvention of these requirements could have repercussions for social networking users in addition to the usual charges of defamation and infringement.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Be who you say you are. Parents & kids should familiarize themselves with the terms of service and know what they are agreeing to.

Rule #3 Leave out the Party Pictures

Posting photos -- or other disclosures -- that portray illegal (underage) alcohol consumption, possession, intoxication or drug use/selling --open social networkers up to not only school district or university campus violations with adverse consequences but also to criminal charges.

WHY IT’S AN EASY RULE TO BREAK – people take pictures or video of you without your knowledge

EXAMPLE

Emory University charged certain Facebook group members with conduct violations after the members posted information regarding their alcohol use on-campus and four students at Northern Kentucky University  were charged after posting photos of themselves consuming alcohol in a dorm room.

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES
Conviction for illegal drug possession, consumption or intoxication

First Offense: A fine of up to $500; mandatory alcohol awareness course; 8-12 hours of community service; 30-day suspension of license.

Second offense: A fine of up to $500; judge may send offender to an alcohol awareness course; 20-40 hours of community service; 60-day suspension of license.

Third offense: If a minor is at least 17 years old, the third offense is punishable by a fine of $250-$2,000, confinement in jail for up to 180 days and automatic suspension of driver's license.

RECOMMENDATIONS
-Be very careful about the pictures you choose to post
-If you are identified in a compromising photo posted by others in your network – ask them to take it down/untag yourself.

Rule #4 Keep your clothes on. No sex, no nudity

Posting sexually suggestive or explicit photos – photos with nudity or partial nudity – lewd or lascivious speech could get you into trouble.

WHY IT’S AN EASY RULE TO BREAK – beach shots that used to go in the physical photo album

EXAMPLES// CONSEQUENCES
A 14-year old New Jersey girl was arrested earlier this year for posting nude pictures of herself on MySpace. She was charged with child pornography and distribution of child porn for allegedly posting almost 30 explicit pictures of herself. She later was placed on probation and ordered to receive counseling.

Other recent juvenile defendants include four Alabama middle-school kids who exchanged nude photographs of each other and a New York teenager who forwarded a nude photo of his girlfriend to his friends. In New York, the youth faces the possibility of seven years in prison.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Be smart about what you post on the Web and what you say to others. The Web is a lot more public
and permanent than it seems.
• Provocative and sexy names and pictures can draw attention from people you don't want in your
• Sexy pictures can get you into trouble with the law. If you are underage, they may be considered child pornography, a serious crime.

Rule #5 No Cyber-Bullying

What is it:  “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.”

WHY IS IT EASY RULE TO BREAK – pranksters can go too far

How might it happen:  if someone sends emails or instant messages, post obscene, insulting, and
slanderous messages to online bulletin boards or social networking sites, or develop Web pages to promote and disseminate defamatory content.
• Malicious text messages can be sent to the target via cell phones. In addition to sending threatening text messages, most phones have picture-taking and video-recording capabilities. This functionality creates additional opportunities for would-be bullies to collect content (e.g., a picture) that could be used against someone else.
• For example, a picture could be taken in a place where privacy is expected (e.g., a locker room) and posted online for all to see.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Open dialog with their children regarding issues of safety and responsible Internet use.
• School outreach and education programs about Internet responsibility & safety in general – don’t single out SNSs
• Kids --
Report it when other people are acting weird and inappropriately or harassing you or others. It's less
trouble just to log off, but these people may be dangerous. Save the communication. Contact the site
management, your service provider, or even the police.

GOOD NEWS!!!

Bad Behaviors on social network sites are not nearly as prevalent as you might think:

In random sample of college student facebook profiles, alcohol included in approximately 9% of the central photos, sexually suggestive photos (2.7%), and one photo contained partial nudity (0.7%).

Bullying and sexual solicitation is overblown in the media (7%) of online teens have experienced disturbing stranger contact, according to Pew National survey of U.S. teens

Don’t single out SNSs – these are issues relevant to ALL Internet use by young people.