The internet may seem like the wild west, but it’s not truly without laws. If you’re creating content for your business, you need to be aware of potential legal and ethical issues. While it may seem like “everyone” is saying whatever they feel, using whatever images they want, and neglecting to verify “facts,” you or your business can actually face serious consequences including fines and imprisonment. Here are some issues to consider:
- Copyright Infringement. It may be easy peasy to copy and paste a picture from a website, but you really want to avoid doing so. According to Purdue University, if you are taken to court and the court sides with the owner of the copyright, you can be charged anywhere from $200 to $150,000 for each work you infringed. In extreme cases, you can be imprisoned. You will be responsible for court costs, and the court can impound the work that violates the law. This could also mean the court shutting down your business’s website and/or social media. Online photographs and graphics have the same protection as printed works. Avoid issues by only using what you have created yourself or have permission to use. Make sure you are carefully reading your agreements with stock photo services and content creation apps.
- Libel. Even if you are running a site or a social media account that you think is obviously expressing only your opinion, you should explicitly state that it is your opinion. Presenting falsehoods about someone else as if they were facts is still a serious offense, even in this age of misinformation and disinformation. If you are found guilty of libel, you could face fines and imprisonment, depending on where you live. You can also be sued for damages by the injured party. These damages can include emotional damages, loss to reputation, and loss of potential income, so the dollar amounts can get hefty.
- Plagiarism. In the age of memes, copy/paste, and share buttons, plagiarism has become a bit of a sticky wicket. The bottom line is that you should not present someone else’s ideas as your own (even if that someone is AI). You may be able to snag memes or post other people’s social media content without attribution and without consequence, but it is still unethical to do so (especially if you are trying to monetize your own content and would not like the same done to you). If you earn money (over $2,500 in most cases) from plagiarized work, most states in the US consider that a felony. Most employers and colleges also will not tolerate any plagiarism and have policies for dismissal or other severe consequences.
- Deep fakes. It should go without say that creating deep fakes is both unethical and illegal, but we do live in an age of unfortunate online ugliness. Sexually explicit deep fakes can carry prison sentences of up to 7 years, and creators can be sued for damages. Any portrayals, even if they aren’t sexual in nature, of real people doing or saying things they have not really done will subject the creator to potential fines and criminal prosecution.
- Generative AI. Generative AI brings a host of challenges around copyright, bias, libel, and misinformation. It would behoove you to check everything you create with AI for these issues. You are ultimately responsible for anything you publish, and a defense of “the computer created it” is not likely to be a winning legal strategy. Questions of copyright ownership for AI-generated materials are still up in the air, and ethical issues abound over the training of AI on copyrighted materials. Both issues could potentially lead to legal and financial ramifications. You are also responsible for inaccurate information you put out into the world, whether intentionally or not. You can be held accountable for publishing AI-generated libel or other falsehoods.
Substance and Style 