An analysis of the fundamental tensions between copyright and social media: the legal implications of sharing images on Instagram

ABSTRACT

Copyright is inherently intertwined with the development of technology and none more so than the advent of the Internet and sharing technologies. More recently, social media platforms have become the latest challenge for copyright law and policy. This article builds on the literature that recognises the underlying conflict between copyright and social networking sites (SNSs); namely that the basic implication of copyright is the restriction of copying, whereas the ethos of social networking is the promotion of sharing. In particular, this article focuses on the disparity between the restricted acts of copying and communication to the public under copyright law and the encouragement of sharing on SNS Instagram. In doing so, it contextualises the debate surrounding copyright and social media and provides an understanding of the legal implications of using Instagram. As such this paper analyses (1) the infringement of copyright protected work on Instagram, and (2) the user-agreement and licensing of copyright material on Instagram. This study concludes that the disparity between the principles of copyright and social media lead to confusion and vulnerability of users. Therefore, it is suggested that Instagram should better inform its users of the implications of sharing third-party content as well as the terms of its user agreement. This could be done by implementing a copyright strategy, which includes a notice and takedown system as well as investing in producing educational content for users. Perhaps SNSs, such as Instagram might be more motivated to take steps to recognise intellectual property rights if they were considered Internet Services Provides such as YouTube.     

新媒介技术下中国政治传播的改变及应对

在新媒介时代,网络空间成为政治传播线上宣传的公共领域,新媒介技术成为不断推动这个领域创新发展的重要力量。新媒介技术下的政治传播格局发生改变,政治传播主体更加多元,政治传播方式更加多样,政治传播的问题也逐渐凸显。转变传统公共政治传播观念,以新媒介技术为支撑,传播优质内容,寻求与公众的政治共识,建立公共传播与公众传播的多向互动格局,增强公众对政府的信任度,能够对新媒介技术下政治传播生态的健康发展产生积极作用。     

Prisons or Problem-Solving: Does the Public Support Specialty Courts?

ABSTRACT

Recently, “problem-solving” courts have been developed as an alternative to imprisonment. They are often called “specialty” courts because they process and divert into treatment programs offenders who are seen as different from the general criminal population, such as those with mental health or drug problems, those who are homeless or veterans, and those who engage in domestic violence. Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 respondents, the current study examines overall public support for rehabilitation as a goal of corrections and then focuses specifically on support for different types of specialty courts. The analysis reveals that the American public endorses not only the rehabilitative ideal but also the use of problem-solving courts. Further, with only minimal variation, strong support for these courts appears to exist regardless of political orientation and sociodemographic characteristics.     

Citizen aid,social media and brokerage after disaster

Abstract

In a crisis, aid providers deliver humanitarian relief across a hierarchy of organisations where influence and capacity map to their scale of operations. On the front lines of crises, ‘citizen aid’ is what small, local and informal groups offer to fellow citizens. These citizen aid groups are well-networked in place and tend to work through longstanding personal relationships. In the Philippines, citizen aid groups frequently support their activities by documenting their work with photos of beneficiaries to solicit donations from within the country and around the world across social media platforms. This paper builds on recent debates on brokerage through a case study of citizen aid in the relief effort after Typhoon Haiyan (2013–2017). Using this case-study approach, we demonstrate how social media has produced novel forms of brokerage shaped by circulating images online. This new kind of brokerage involves a layered network of brokers that both shapes citizen aid efforts and creates new channels for localising aid, enhancing the control of citizen groups in the Global South over aid.     

RACIAL–ETHNIC INTOLERANCE AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A CROSS-NATIONAL COMPARISON*

This article tests cross-nationally the minority group threat thesis that public sentiments toward repressive crime-control policies reflect conflicted racial and ethnic relations. Using multiple data sets representing France, Belgium, the Netherlands, East and West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Ireland, and Portugal, we examine whether racial and ethnic intolerance—animus, resentments, or negative sentiments toward minorities—predicts greater support for the death penalty. Our results reveal that the respondents were significantly more likely to express support for capital punishment if they were racially or ethnically intolerant while controlling for other covariates of public opinion. These findings indicate that the link between support for capital punishment and racial and ethnic animus may occur universally in countries with conflicted racial and ethnic relations.     

越过边境去立法——柏拉图《理想国》的一个注脚

在<理想国>描述的洞穴比喻中,隐含了哲人/真理为民众/意见立法的复杂关系.哲人/真理之所以要跨越本身的边界去为民众/意见立法,而不是隐匿自身、远离民众/意见,是由于民众/意见正是哲人/真理之得以成为哲人/真理的前提条件.哲人/真理必须进入民众/意见的世界,否则就根本不可能有关于哲人/真理的任何意义.哲人立的法就是要民众通过一定的规矩去发现自然正确,在朝圣的路途之中对于真正的思敞开大门,发现、显示自身的所是并揭示存在.法律正是民众"成人"的法门.     

大众传媒中歧视问题探究

大众传媒对当前信息传播的重要影响毋庸置疑,由于其宣称的独立性,以及站在政治和商业权力的对立面而受到普遍的赞誉。但在这个貌似公正无私外表的掩饰下,媒体却对现实社会中众多的“歧视”观念的产生和延续有着不可推卸的责任。     

试论构建大众传媒与政策议程的良性互动关系

政策议程的创建对于实现政府决策的科学化与民主化意义巨大 ,而大众传媒则是使社会问题进入政策议程的有效途径之一。随着传媒技术的发展 ,大众传媒在其中扮演的角色会越来越重要。正确认识和把握政策议程与大众传媒两者的互动关系 ,对推进政府公共决策有重要理论价值和重大现实意义。     

传媒监督与司法独立的冲突与契合

传媒监督司法和司法独立 ,已是现代法治的潮流。但是 ,它们之间又有着不容忽视的冲突 ,问题的关键在于两者必须实现平衡与契合。