Every month, more than half of the world's population uses social media: it’s become far more than just a pastime, it’s now fast evolving into the global infrastructure for information exchange. 

Whilst these unprecedented developments have introduced great opportunities, they have also brought challenges. In 2018, now more than ever, the social sphere is subject to a great deal of scrutiny. Bird & Bird’s unique heritage and depth of expertise in the media, technology and communication industries means we are ideally placed to help clients navigate this ever-changing landscape. Our multi-disciplinary team of lawyers work seamlessly across our 30 offices in key jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region in order to provide digital businesses with targeted advice directly from the most appropriate jurisdiction.

We appreciate that the term 'social' encapsulates a lot - whether you operate a social network, provide or use social media related services (such as blogs, forums, business networks, photo/video sharing platforms, social gaming and messaging apps), our in-depth industry knowledge and expertise in key disciplines enables us to understand the vital role social plays in your organisation.

Our social advice encompasses:

• ‘Fake news’, online disinformation, internet security and media regulation requirements
• Liability for online content, including digital copyright issues
• Privacy and defamation disputes
• Data protection challenges (including GDPR and compliance)
• Protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights (including licensing, brand protection and infringement issues)
• Reputation management 
• Marketing and advertising rules, unfair trade practices and influencers
• Terms and Conditions and other platform requirements and guidelines
• Legal strategies and social media policies
• Net neutrality requirements, cooperation with security authorities and telecoms regulations
• IT, telecommunications infrastructure and other commercial contracts
• Corporate transactions and tax advice

We strongly feel that having access to uncomplicated advice is key to a project's success, no matter how big or small it is. In the world of social, where legal issues can be complex, intersect and differ on a country by country basis, we can provide real insight into the issues you face and solutions that are both practical and creative. If you'd like to know more about how we can help, please get in touch with Bryony Hurst.