14. How to avoid getting cancelled on social media – Wei Li Fong

The #HighlySoughtAfter Talk Show

In this episode of #HighlySoughtAfter, I had a chat with Fong Weili, a well-known lawyer here in Singapore. Wei Li represents and advises influencers, public figures and companies on online issues like privacy, defamation and how they can avoid getting into trouble on social media. He’s also the managing director at Forward Legal and an adjunct faculty at Singapore Management University’s School of Law.
In this episode, he’s going to address the top three social media related issues that you may get you in legal trouble: copyrights infringement, defamation and cancel culture.
If you ever worry that you are breaking some law every time you post content on social media, you’ll love this episode as Weili highlights the top three social media related issues that may get you in legal trouble, as well as the legal mistakes you might be making every day on social media.

Hint: If you’re a content creator, entrepreneur or content creator building your personal brand on social media, listen in at 19:29 where Weili delves into copyright infringement, what constitutes it, and practical steps of how you can avoid getting into legal trouble on social media.

Also listen out for Wei Li’s answers to the following questions:

• I’m curious, have you always thought about studying Law? Has that always been your ambition? - 1:04
• How did you end up specialising in social media and internet law? – 3:22
• What was one of the most interesting cases you’ve worked on? – 4:26
• If I, or someone in a compromised position receives a video of themselves (i.e., that person was a victim of revenge porn) and then I watch that video, is it illegal? – 17:43
• If I draw out a Disney character, am I able to use it commercially, or for personal usage only? – 19:29
• Let’s say I say something in a video or a speech (i.e., a quotable quote) and then someone says it without quoting or referencing me, is that copyright infringement? – 21:08
• What about trademarking a quote? – 23:03
• Can we post copyrighted music from a movie, or say Spotify, to our social media? – 23:28
• If we credit the source of the content, will that save us from legal issues? – 25:15
• If I create a 2–3-minute video, and someone clipped a portion of my video and re-posted it without crediting me. Is that considered legal? – 26:28
• I heard of a legal case involving Katy Perry, where she took a photo of her on Instagram, reposted it and got sued. Why? – 31:54
• Why do you have this reputation as one of the top lawyers for defamation in Singapore? – 38:02
• Is it true if I make a statement (i.e., in my opinion), does it help cushion, and perhaps even prevent me from getting into a defamation suit? – 45:00
• How can we prevent cancel culture? – 48:52
• Many famous people who have recently gotten into trouble for mistakes they made when they weren’t famous. What can we do? – 52:08
• What about critic videos, commentary, and satire done by YouTubers to other people? – 53:13

If you want to keep in touch with Wei Li, you can reach him on Instagram @willythewombatwizard. You can also check out his law firm, and contact details on his website: https://www.forwardlegal.sg/fong-wei-li.
Read these books to become highly sought after in your own industry -> www.pickericsbrain.com

Thank you for listening to this episode of #HighlySoughtAfter!

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me hit the ‘subscribe’ button if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or hit the ‘follow’ button if you are listening on Spotify.
I would also love to hear your biggest takeaway from this episode! Here’s how: take a screenshot of you listening to #HighlySoughtAfter and tag me on Instagram. My handle is @ericgoesglobal. This way, I can personally thank you!