Mobile Phones: Best friend or trouble maker?

October 31, 2016 by Melinda @ Giles Wilson Solicitors

MOBILE PHONES: Best friend or potential trouble maker?

Dependent upon which statistics you believe, the percentage of people aged over the age of 6 that have a mobile phone will be 70 – 90% by the year 2020.  I was sitting in a very popular café in Leigh Broadway this week and watching a table of teenage girls who greeted each other warmly, ordered their lattes and then spent the rest of their time on their phones. To be fair they were communicating; swapping phones, laughing and teasing each other about the content. Is there any danger in that?

Where shall I start?

Simply put; if you post something untrue about another person on Facebook, that is as bad as printing it in a newspaper or saying it in front of a group of people.  In fact it could be worse as FB is international and the breadth to which the comments can be re-published are endless.  If that comment, or picture causes damage to the person’s reputation they can bring a claim against the person responsible for damages. Last year there was a 38% rise in such claims for comments made on Twitter and Facebook!

So be careful who you pass your phone too particularly if you have one of your social media apps open!  And parents please pass the warning on!  Check out this social media test and pass it on; http://quiz.gileswilson.co.uk/quiz/are-you-a-social-liability

And this warning is not just for the young. There was a time when the disgruntled would write a cross letter to The Leigh Times or Echo; these days we are more likely to post a review or comment.  Even put a picture on Instagram.  Again, take care!  We once had a case where a business owner had photo-shopped a competitor’s products on to his own social media to try to show how bad the other business’s product was; the image was untrue and was done to damage their reputation. Bingo! The damage is done and unless it can be satisfactorily retracted this spells trouble.

Defamation is a serious issue and one that most of us thought belonged to the world of celebrities; but hey are we not all celebrities now? But just remember as you pose for those photos or post your disparaging views about your ex on-line that you could be opening up a can of worms (or should I say a big fat case for a defamation lawyer).

This article is by Melinda Giles of Giles Wilson Solicitors
For any legal advice please call Melinda on 01702 477 106 or arrange a visit at one of their three offices; 1711 London Road Leigh, 54 Leigh Broadway, 5 Roche Close Rochford. Leigh-on-Sea Profile: https://www.leigh-on-sea.com/giles-wilson-solicitors-leigh.html
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