How to Handle a Social Media Dispute

In 2022 there were approximately 57.6 million active social media users in the UK alone. This is about 85% of the UK's population. A staggering 4.6 million UK residents joined social media in 2022.

It is an ever-growing and changing media, which allows a closer interaction between company and consumer than ever before. Likewise, there are a growing number of users whose social media accounts are from their business. However, it's not always the "likes" and "shares" that companies receive. A bad review or a slur can seriously harm a business's reputation. In the event this happens, what can you do about it? 

What is Defamation? 

A negative comment or review can be highly damaging. It could cause existing and prospect clients to lower their opinion of you and deter them from using your service. These comments could be anything from an unsupported review of the services received, the quality of the goods supplied, or a comment critiquing your actions. If the statement affects your reputation, then it may be defamatory. To prove this, you need to show the following:

• Was the comment first published within the past 12 months?
• Has it lowered the "right-thinking" members of society's estimation of you?
• Has it caused or is it likely to cause serious harm to you?
• Was the statement untrue, or was it an honest opinion?

A single post by an individual may not be the only way to commit defamation. Leaving an anonymous one-star review could also be defamatory. Likewise, if someone establishes a fake social media profile, purporting to be written by and about you, this may also be defamatory.

What is Harassment?

If someone's conduct causes you distress or alarm, this could be harassment. The Protection of Harassment Act 1997 was introduced to protect an individual from all sources of harassment, whether verbal, physical or online. Examples of these could be actions like trolling or cyberbullying. 

The Protection of Harassment Act prevents a person from carrying out an intentional course of conduct. It will amount to harassment if the perpetrator knows (or ought to know) that their behaviour is causing you distress or alarm and involves two instances of this happening (not as distinct or separate events.)

The Protection of Harassment Act also prohibits a person from trying to persuade more than two people not to do something that they are entitled or required to do. This prevents individual employees from being harassed to compel or encourage the employer to do or not do something. For example, a former company employee cannot persuade their former colleagues to leave work for a day to encourage their former employer to take them back.

Misuse of Private Information

The Human Rights Act requires UK courts to give effect to the right to privacy. There are two distinct branches for the misuse of private information. The first is the misuse of private information, which is the publication of confidential information. The other is preventing intrusion into an individual's right to privacy.

To establish a misuse of private information, you should ask whether there was a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding the information in question. For example, if you are about to launch a new product, you may only want the news released once the prototype is finalised.  

What action could you take?

So now you know what constitutes defamation, harassment, and the misuse of private information, but what can you do about it?

There are two main parties to who you can bring action against. The first is the person who published the comment or post. The other is the social media website provider. You can take either of the above to court for an injunction to remove the post or comment, stop someone from posting about you, or bring forward a case for financial damages due to a loss of business or a combination of both. However, when considering any litigation, it is essential to think about the following factors:

• How much is this going to cost?
• What impact will litigation have on your life? It can be very stressful, so it should not be considered lightly.
• What is the outcome of any action likely to be?
• How long will any litigation take?
• Do you have a strong argument?
• Is any damage actually being caused? (how many people are likely to see the objectionable content about you?)

As such, you may consider the following options, which do not involve legal action.

Request for the comment to be taken down 

The first would be to contact the social media provider and see their procedures for taking down a comment or terminating an account. This process is often straightforward and may only require completing a few online forms. However, many social media platforms are US companies governed by US law. US laws usually state that Internet service providers may not be liable for content posted on their sites. This means that social media platforms can decide not to remove the content, even where it may seem clearly objectionable under UK law. Nevertheless, in May 2016, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube agreed on a code of conduct regarding unlawful hate speech posted by their users.

Spin it!

Sometimes the best defence is a good offence. Taking a stand and responding to comments or reviews can sometimes be more beneficial for a company than remaining silent. Responding promptly and professionally will usually result in the original poster's comments losing weight to their argument or what they initially said. However, it is important to know when to pick your battles and engage with someone who is defamatory or harassing you. It may fuel the fire more and create hype around the subject.

Following your company's procedures regarding how you respond is essential. If, as a company, you have a PR manager or PR agency, it can be beneficial to get their input as to the best way to deal with a problematic post or user.

Regulatory Bodies

You can also make a complaint to The Advertising Standards Authority. This independent regulatory body provides standards of advertising practice and codes to ensure that advertising is socially responsible and ethical. The Advertising Standards Authority may be able to assist you with the following:

• The content provides a misleading comparison between businesses or products.
• The content misleads customers about the manufacture of a product.
• Marketing communications discredit another provider's product or service.

Complaints can be made about "marketing communications" that are unlawful, indecent, dishonest or misleading, particularly if they breach the Advertising Codes.

To discuss any problematic social media posts that were about you or your company or to advise you on the best way to deal with these matters, you can contact Mollie Leak in the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution team on 02380 717487 or email mollieleak@warnergoodman.co.uk.