Business
Business Buzz: Steal your Facebook

PHUKET: With the advent of social media and its meteoric rise in popularity, technology has grown at a rate much faster and in ways that the law has not been able to keep up with or envisage.
Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest now have billions of users.
There are a couple of areas in particular that should be of fundamental interest to business owners and people using social media for profit. These main issues focus around copyright and data protection laws, or more commonly, who owns the content and what can be done with it.
Many people may be surprised to know when they post content on many of the above named platforms they have given up many of their rights to the service provider, although they still own the copyright to original material.
For example, when you sign up for a Facebook account and agree to their terms and conditions
you agree to ‘a non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook.’
So in understandable terms what does this really mean?
Put simply, you are allowing Facebook to use your content as and how they like – and they can use it for free. Even more relevant, they are allowed to let all of their users (and this includes people that do not even have an account) do the same.
So the reality is the moment you post any content on Facebook, you lose the privacy and control you originally had over it.
In practical terms what does this mean?
Once you have posted content on Facebook, you have given up most of your legal and commercial rights. When you see someone’s post on Facebook you have the opportunity to like, share or comment.
You have given implied consent to anyone that sees the post to use that information in any manner they want (as long as it is lawful), and you are not entitled to the expectation of privacy or reward.
While we have focused on Facebook, the same applies to most of the social media providers.
YouTube is an example of where they even make it easy for other people to use your content. If you look at any YouTube video that is public, there is the Share tab. This allows any viewer to take your video and send it to others, and even place it on their own websites as if it were their own. They must not amend or tamper with your video, but they have a cost-free version of your content.
Instagram has gone a step further and has you agree in their terms and conditions that they can receive money for selling your content to third parties.
LinkedIn really takes the cake. Their terms allow them to ‘copy, prepare derivative works of,
improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered…’
LinkedIn is saying they can use your content and ideas in whatever ways they can to make money, even in ways that have not even been thought of yet.
In short, once you post any content on social media, you pretty much lose your right to any expectation of privacy or payment.
While you do retain ownership, even if you try to delete the content in the future, it is like the proverbial genie, once it has been let out of the bottle it is virtually impossible to get it back in.
So, before you create a new account, it is worth checking the terms and conditions, and before you post on social media make sure you are not giving away the keys to the cookie jar.
Simon Wetherell is a social media expert, lawyer, best selling author and international speaker. He now resides in Phuket where he conducts business seminars and trains individuals on how to profit from the use of social media. For more information go to PhuketOnline Marketing.com or call 095-085 3355.
— Simon Wetherell
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.
Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)4 days ago
Foreign tourists must use Covid-19 tracking app when travelling to Thailand
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
International travellers allowed to transit Thailand from Monday
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)2 days ago
PM Prayut postponing Covid‐19 vaccination citing paperwork issues
- Crime3 days ago
Motorbike taxi attacked tourist in Pattaya because he was annoyed
- Bangkok2 days ago
Bangkok police raid house where model died after playing hostess
- Crime3 days ago
Thai man accidentally kills himself with homemade bomb
- Bangkok1 day ago
Woman talks about the life of a Thai “pretty” after model’s death
- Eastern Thailand3 days ago
Roadtrippers take a break at petrol station only to find dead body under car