LEGAL AND CONTRACTUAL ISSUES
In addition to the ethical issues, Meta’s terms prohibit the sale, license or purchase of Facebook or Instagram accounts, including data obtained from them.
Meta can suspend, disable or delete accounts found to be in breach of these terms, said Mr Fong Wei Li, managing director at Forward Legal.
“If someone sells an account and Meta later disables or deletes it for breaching the terms, the buyer may have paid a sum of money for an account they can no longer access,” said Mr Fong, whose expertise is in technology and communications law.
“In the worst case, the account could be wiped out entirely, leaving the buyer with nothing.”
However, Mr Fong added that there are no Singapore laws explicitly prohibiting the sale of social media accounts.
The Complaint Singapore admin argued that the sale is akin to transferring business ownership. “There are many sales of businesses in Singapore and the rest of the world, where new buyers take over the business they bought and all its related assets, including their social media presence,” the admin said.
Mr Lester Lin, a partner specialising in intellectual property, digital assets and technology at RHTLaw Asia, noted that while Meta’s terms are clear, platforms may veer from these terms.
This includes instances where admin rights are moved as part of a legitimate business sale or acquisition.
“In such contexts, platforms like Facebook and Instagram are frequently pragmatic, and there have been numerous instances in which no enforcement action was taken notwithstanding a transfer of admin control as part of the wider deal,” said Mr Lin.
CNA has contacted Meta for clarification.
