ABSTRACT
Lawmakers, regulators and the courts are slow to keep pace with technological change, including the evolving social media landscape, but previous law remains important. In the US, social media users are governed by the British common law tradition, constitutional development of free expression rights through case law, and federal statutes and regulation. British common law made through cases is a foundation for US law, which also provides constitutional First Amendment protection. Internet access broadened with mobile and real-time applications and social media law and regulation have been evolving with rapid global adoption. As a general rule, social media and other Internet communication are not immune from traditional media law—libel, privacy, copyright and commercial speech. Social media interaction can be subpoenaed during a case, and tweets create a legal record of communication and behavior. Tweets, messages of no more than 140 characters on Twitter, are receiving increasing attention from lawyers.
