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This topic covers
- Social media use
- Privacy
- Intimate images
- Defamation
- Criminal law
- Discrimination
- Harassment and bullying
Social media is any website or online tool that allows users to create and share content and information on the internet.
Common social media websites include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
| Time limit | Action |
|---|---|
| 12 months | From the date the material was published to start legal action for defamation in NSW. |
| 12 months | From when the discrimination took place to complain to Anti-Discrimination NSW. |
| Six months | From when the discrimination took place to make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission. |
Jurisdiction can be a complex issue for this area of law as problems with social media can occur between people in different states or countries. The nature of sharing information online means that often you don't know who a person is, where they live, or where material has come from. |
If you want to take legal action because of a problem with social media, you should speak to a lawyer. A lawyer can help you work out what laws apply, whether the laws have been broken and whether you have any options or grounds to start legal action. |
Common term | Definition |
|---|---|
​Adult cyber abuse | ​Online communication to or about a person who is 18 years or older that is intended to cause them serious harm. The communication is through a social media service, relevant electronic service or designated internet service. |
​Cyber abuse | ​Behaviour that uses technology to threaten, intimidate, harass or humiliate someone with the intention of hurting them socially, psychologically or physically. |
Cyberbullying | The use of technology to bully, harass, intimidate or hurt a person. It can occur anywhere on the internet including by email, on a website or through apps. |
​Defamation | ​Where a person says or implies something that harms a person's reputation in the ordinary community, or within their trade or profession, and is likely to result in the person being shunned avoided, made fun of, or despised. |
​Intimate image | A still visual image or a moving visual image that depicts, or appears to depict:
in circumstances where an ordinary reasonable person would reasonably expect to be given privacy. |
​Objection notice | A notice given to the eSafety Commissioner objecting to sharing of an intimate image online. |
​Online grooming | ​When an adult uses electronic communication to build a relationship with a child to sexually abuse them. |
​Remedial direction | ​A written direction from the eSafety Commissioner that requires the recipient to take specific action aimed at preventing, or preventing further, non-consensual sharing of intimate images. |
​Removal notice | A written notice from the eSafety Commissioner requiring the receipt to take all steps to remove an intimate image from a service within 24 hours, or the time specified in the notice. A removal notice may be given to:
|
Sexting | A slang word for sending text messages, photos, videos or other material of a sexual nature, usually using a mobile phone. |
Social media | Websites that allow people to access and share information and content, such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Myspace. |
​Technology facilitated abuse | ​Any behaviour that uses technology to harass, monitor, stalk, impersonate or threaten someone in order to control, frighten or humiliate that person. |
Troll | A slang word for someone who publishes online material that is offensive, defamatory or abusive. |
Tweet | Information posted on Twitter. |
Website administrator | The person responsible for maintaining or monitoring a website. |
| Organisation | Forms |
|---|---|
| eSafety Commissioner |
Manual forms |
More services
Our resources
More resources
- Australian Cyber Security Centre: Security Tips for Social Media and Messaging Apps
- eSafety Commissioner: Counselling and support services
- eSafety Commissioner: Image-based abuse​
- eSafety Commissioner: Social media checklist
- eSafety Commissioner: The eSafety Guide
- Kids Helpline: Sexting
- Kids Helpline: Sexting and the impacts on young people
- NSW Police Force: Technology Facilitated Abuse
- Youth Law Australia: Internet, phones and technology
- Youth Law Australia: Sexting
- Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre: Cyberbullying
Last updated: December 2023