Developing Effective Social Media Policies 1 LAW/531 Version 13 University of Phoenix Material Developing Effective Social Media Policies Social media has provided many marketing, recruiting, and customer service advantages f or businesses; however, there are risks as well as benef its with using social media. With the ability f or posts and videos to go “viral” within minutes, it is imperative that businesses caref ully manage their social media presence. Likewise, individual employees’ social media activity can ref lect on their employers, even when done f rom their personal accounts outside of the workplace. 1 Some employers routinely search f or prospective job candidate’s social media accounts when making hiring decisions, which can also create unintended legal issues. For these reasons, having clear and well-def ined social media policies is a modern must-have f or any employee handbook. Creating these policies involves many areas of business leadership , including management, human resources, business development, IT personnel and legal ad visors, and all should be consulted when developing such policies. Thinking of worst-case scenarios in advance can be helpf ul. For example, imagine that an employee posts a video of him or herself verbally berating a f ast-f ood worker (outside of work hours) on YouTube™ or Instagram™. Although they don’t identif y him or herself as an employee of your company, their identity quickly becomes known once the video goes viral. Social media users start urging the boycott of your company until the of f ending employee is f ired. Do your social media policies clearly set f orth what should happen to the employee and the grounds f or taking such action? Social media policies should cover three key areas. First, management of the company’s own social media accounts such as who may post content on behalf of the company and the vetting or approval process f or content. Second, def ine the company’s policies f or employee use of social media—not just during work hours or using company equipment—including outside of work on the employee’s personal time. Lastly, how does the company use social media when making hiring decisions, and how does it monitor social media activity by employees? Key considerations f or each of these issues are addressed below. Policies for Company Social Media Accounts • Designate one or more employees or managers who can post to company accounts and who have f inal review and approval authority over content proposed by other employees or departments. The designated individuals should have a good understanding of the company’s branding, image, marketing strategy, and intellectual property rights. If those individuals will be handling customer service issues, complaints, and various other things, they should be properly trained regarding the use of a positive and prof essional tone in all responses. • In addition to protecting your company’s own intellectual property rights, it is also important to make sure that company social media posts or web site content does not inf ringe upon or violate the rights of others. For example, other images taken f rom the internet should never be re-posted to your company page(s) without verif ying who owns the copyright to that image and obtaining their written consent. Your legal counsel should also provide guidance regarding the use of other company names and trademarks within your social media posts , or website content, and when it is permissible to do so. 1 Graef, Aileen. “Woman who claims she was fired for flipping off Trump motorcade sues former employer”. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/politics/woman-flipped-off-trump-sues/index.html. Accessed April 6, 2018. Notably, the company maintains that she was not fired for making the gesture, but rather for violating the company’s social media policy by posting the photo to her social media account. Copyright © 2018 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Developing Effective Social Media Policies 2 LAW/531 Version 13 Policies for Employee Use of Social Media • With regard to online activity during work hours or using company -owned computers or cell phones, employers have more discretion to prohibit, limit , or monitor employee use of social media. Inf orm employees that they should not have an expectation of privacy when using company equipment. You should consider the nature of the business and the impact on employee morale and productivity when developing your policy. • Provide a clear statement that any misuse of social media by employees can be grounds f or discipline, including termination. This should take into account your state’s privacy laws (if any) concerning employee social media accounts and be based on advice f rom legal counsel. • Distinguish between business and personal use (on-the-job and of f -the-job conduct). • Instruct employees to avoid posting anything that could be considered def amation, obscenity, harassment, discrimination, or disclosure of company trade secrets or conf idential inf ormation. Conf idential and proprietary inf ormation may include inf ormation regarding trademarks, sales, f inances, the number of employees or their identities, company strategy, the development of systems, processes, products, knowledge, technology, and any other inf ormation that has not been publicly released. • Employees should understand that if they choose to identif y themselves as af f iliated with your company (through a website like LinkedIn™), their prof ile and related content should be consistent with how they wish to present themselves to colleagues and clients as well as the company’s overall image and reputation. However, employees should be advised not use the company name or logo in their usernames or prof ile photo unless they are authorized to speak f or or represent the company of f icially. Limitations • Be caref ul; certain inf ormation and content may be protected under other state or f ederal laws, such as protected complaints of discrimination or whistleblowing. • Also use caution when using social media as part of the pre-employment screening or hiring process. Doing so may result in inadvertent d iscrimination against a protected characteristic such as gender, race, or sexual orientation that is learned by accessing a candidate’s social media prof ile. Employers must also comply with the Fair Credit and Reporting Act (FCRA) regarding background checks. Although the FCRA permits the use of consumer reports that contain inf ormation gathered f rom social media, an employer must disclose if any such inf ormation results in an “adverse employment decision”. • Other f ederal laws that employers should be aware of concerning the monitoring of employee social media activity include the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, laws of which can be violated if an employer circumvents enhanced privacy settings on an employee’s social media account. Copyright © 2018 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.