As of October 2012, there were over one billion active users on Facebook. Although the stock of Facebook has experienced a roller-coaster ride, which has mostly been on the first steep downhill part of the track, the slide probably says little about the future of Facebook and social media. Technology and innovation behind social media are experiencing a rapid rate of change, and the law usually lags, but an understanding of legal issues is important to avoid liability. Here's what business owners need to know to avoid legal traps in social media.

User vs. provider

On a simplistic level, there are two ways to approach social media from a legal perspective. One is from the perspective of the user and the other is from the perspective of the provider of social media. Bloggers and users of social media need to be concerned about liability for what they are posting, and providers of social media portals—including businesses—need to be concerned about potential liability for simply making the social media vehicle available.

Original content or else

When posting content on social media, or in any other environment, there are some basic rules to follow. All content should be original to the person (or company) posting, or there should be a license to post the content. Original works, including text, graphics and photos, are protectable under copyright law. Except in limited circumstances, the owner must grant permission to use or post the content; failure to obtain permission constitutes infringement. Granting attribution, or identifying the owner of the content, is not sufficient for compliance with copyright law. Although it is easy to rationalize that no damages could possibly flow from a blog or other post, statutory damages of up to $150,000 in the case of willful infringement are available.