Every time we press the share button in Facebook or retweet something we like, we could violate copyright law.
We find ourselves sharing pictures that have lost their connection to the original photographer. Sometimes we don’t ask for permission to do so, but we share them anyway. Social media applications have changed our view of copyrights, they made people works seem public.
Programs like Instagram allow us to share and download pictures without even acknowledging copyrights. It’s not only pictures that suffer from copyright violation, but the creativity behind them too. I can’t count how many photos I saw of people jumping and their picture taking while they are still on the air. Who is the original photographer that introduced this idea? We don’t know.
In commercials, fashion and many other industries it is the same thing. Ideas are almost all the same, but with different products. I’m wondering, do they all have the same copyrights or do they share the same thoughts? Who is following who?
Although there are many regulations and laws that protect copyrights, I believe it should start within us. We shouldn’t be challenging and jeopardizing our ethics and morals.
Recently, case of plagiarism was all over the press in Saudi Arabia. A famous Islamic scholar thought it would be okay to steal a young woman’s original work, but gladly the government stepped in:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120125116308
How do you protect yourself from violation of copyrights laws in social media? How can we implement copyright laws in social media, especially among teenagers?
Strategically Communicating 
Leave a Reply