Book Review: Regulating Social Media: Legal and Ethical Considerations, edited by Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert

Abstract

Regulating Social Media: Legal and Ethical Considerations. Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert, eds. New York: Peter Lang, 2013. 239 pp. $139.95 hbk. $38.95 pbk.The emergence and staggering growth of social media in recent years brings along with it a wide range of legal and ethical issues worth considering. In Regulating Social Media: Legal and Ethical Considerations, Susan J. Drucker and Gary Gumpert have compiled ten excellent essays that address many of these issues, including privacy, defamation, cyber- bullying, and misrepresentation. They view this text an attempt to document efforts to bring the law and ethical standards up to speed with technological and social realities.Drucker is an attorney and a professor in the Department of Journalism/Media Studies at the School of Communication, Hofstra University. Gumpert is emeritus professor of communication at Queens College of the City University of New York and president of the Urban Communication Foundation.In the first chapter, Star Muir explores the distinctiveness of the digital native. This includes a discussion on the blurred lines between public and private information and regu- latory efforts meant to ease fears related to abuse of information power. Muir discusses the use of social media for political activism, and the intended and unintended results.Next, Dale Herbeck attempts to answer fundamental questions surrounding defa- mation speech within social media. He determines that the standards regulating free speech within traditional media extend to social media. But unlike traditional media publishers and broadcasters, internet service providers enjoy a certain level of immu- nity when it comes to defamatory material from third-party sources. However, authori- ties seem to be more willing to unmask anonymous speakers, allowing aggravated speakers some opportunity to file defamation suits.Two chapters explore the worthwhile and very timely phenomena of cyberbullying. Juliet Dee discusses attempts that have been made to deter this behavior without step- ping on the First Amendment right of free speech. After briefly discussing a series of cases involving cyberbullying and cyberharassment, Dee concludes that the legal sys- tem is struggling to catch up with these runaway problems.Mary Ann Allison and Eric Allison expand on this discussion to include the use of social media in sexting. They provide a brief historical overview of adolescent misbe- havior, suggesting that social media have an amplifying effect on these problems. They argue that research surrounding brain development should be considered when determining how to legally respond to these behavioral problems. In addition, they encourage parents and authorities to rely on global governance mechanisms, such as assessment systems, trustworthiness indicators, and transparency requirements.Adrienne Hacker-Daniels examines the implications of WikiLeaks, including a focus on the reaction and repercussions, and raises questions revolving around user- generated content, service-provider responsibility, and the notion of data dump.Several contributors focus on privacy-related issues within social media. After reviewing Warren and Brandeis' 1890 essay The Right to Privacy, Warren Sandman argues that their concept of privacy is no longer relevant in contemporary culture and does not fit within social media. Although the need for privacy has not diminished, the traditional definitions and understanding of privacy cannot stay unchanged in a socially networked world. …