The Web 2.0 revolution has provided an accessible platform for anyone who wishes to air a viewpoint or be able to express an interest or personal passion. The content for a blog, for example, is typically in the hands of one author and as such they can control and monitor it, ensuring it conforms to what they believe is acceptable and any legal guidelines. However, from a Business point of view it should be remembered that many of the Web 2.0 technologies also allow for the consumer of the information to post some form of comment. The most obvious example of this is the comment capability on many blogs, however let us not discount the way discussion forums allow users to respond to a topic or thread posted by another user. All of this provides an arena for lively debate and interaction but also provides an opportunity for the technology to be abused.
Now ‘abuse’ may seem like a strong term to use but there are many recorded cases where malicious comments have been posted to web sites and blogs, often in breach of national laws. These offensive comments are normally addressed in a very fast and effective manner by site owners and administrators but without moderation the offensive comment has already been presented to the audience. The cases of these types of comment are thankfully rare, but the erroneous information error is far more prevalent.
As a simple example from earlier this year during President Obama's inauguration lunch, US Senators Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, presumably attending the lunch, were both taken ill. Shortly after the event Wikipedia entries reported that they were both dead. Since both have recovered and are still with us I think we can assume the information was incorrect. The changes were removed from Wikipedia within a few minutes of being posted. (Source www.techdigest.tv, 26-01-2009)
Another well publicised miss-reported health issue was Steve Job’s heart attack at the beginning of October 2008. The story was reported by a ‘citizen journalist’ on CNN’s un-moderated news site iReport (www.ireport.com). Within minutes of the story being posted significant speculation was on sites such as Twitter (www.twitter.com). Within an hour Apple were referring to the story as a fake.
These may seem like minor issues but as Adrian Kingsley-Hughes reported in his ZDNET blog, the Apple news saw a significant drop in Apple’s stock price and also lead to an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission as to whether this was a deliberate attempt to force Apple’s stock down.
Now having read the example detailed above you may believe that we are strongly in favour of moderation of posts and comments in a Web 2.0 environment. Well we aren’t. Every case should be examined on its own merit but we must also look at the legal situations within the UK. A major global law firm with offices throughout the UK (Pinsent Masons) advises on their own website www.out-law.com about user generated content. To summarise their article:
- If you moderate your site and inappropriate material is not dealt with by the moderators then the site operators may become liable for the user generated comments.
- If the site is unmoderated the operator will find it easier to avoid liability for user generated content that is defamatory or in some other way breaks the law. The only caveat is that the operator of the site provides a process to quickly remove offensive content when they are made aware of it.
The examples we have distilled above are from a much larger article available on Pinsent Masons’ Out-law website and we would strongly advise anyone looking to move into the area of user generated content to both read the full article, its associated articles and seek appropriate advise from their legal advisors.
Finally, do not expect all of the comments and feedback you receive via Web 2.0 to be positive. If people feel they have an issue with regard to a product or service they will seek out a forum to voice their concern. This should be seen as an opportunity to both respond to any genuine complaints or issues, and also to gain valuable feedback. Most people using the internet today have learnt to sift through the comments and feedback available to them, filtering the extreme ‘reviews’, both good and bad, to draw a balanced opinion. Any site where the only product or service comments are unqualified praise is easily seen through. And remember, allowing users to comment on a blog or participate in a forum is optional. You don’t have to do it.