ABSTRACT
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in consideration of the global communication dimension and the economic implications of the use of social media and digital media, enforced “social” rules of conduct for athletes, to allow interaction with fans and sharing of Olympic experiences. Moreover, the rules were set to avoid behaviours that could interfere with exploitation rights of Olympic properties and assets and images of the competitions, which are the exclusive property of the IOC and constitute one of their main sources of income. Furthermore, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021) and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games were held, for the first time in history, with exceptional media coverage and in the absence of the public, due to the SARS- CoV-2 health emergency. For this reason, these latest guidelines were exceptionally detailed.
