The Law and Social Media
November 18th, 2009 by Bill Crane
As social media continues to become more and more a part of our lives, the laws surrounding these new technologies continue to evolve as well. Courtney Love is being sued by a fashion designer for allegedly making libelous claims on Twitter (read the article on CNN.com). Countless bloggers have been accused of similar actions. There have also been a host of employment law issues related to intellectual property, privacy and hiring and termination practices.
As the law continues to unfold, it’s crucial for companies to keep a close eye on the impacts of the use of social media by employees. And, importantly, we, as communicators, have to take the added responsibility of educating employees about what’s acceptable and what’s not. Whether it’s an internal forum or an external site, we have to ensure employees understand what they can and cannot say online. We have to think through the implications of our digital strategy and partner with our colleagues in HR and Legal to define appropriate policies to govern these tools.
When thinking about the internal side, check out Bill Ives’ list of 10 things to consider when developing an internal social software policy. This is a good list to review regardless if you already have a policy in place or if you are just beginning to explore these types of tools. And, remember to revisit your guidelines from time to time as the legal environment continues to evolve.
In the end, a lot of this comes down to common sense. The age old rule of “think before you speak” still applies. However, we have a role to play in helping employees adapt to the new digital world of corporate communications.
Tags: law, legal issues, policies, social media, Twitter
December 31st, 2009 at 1:35 am
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