Hello Friends..
Today I'm going to talk about the legal risks when using social media.
Social media offers the opportunity for people to gather in online communities of shared interest and create, share or consume content. With the enhanced features provided by Web 2.0 and social media tools in general, breaking laws on the internet has become easier than before. social media tools are now essential tools we use to communicate among one another every day. previously in this blog, the benefits and risks of social media were elaborated on. with this said, organizations and businesses must be aware of the benefits and risks that come with utilizing social media tools. such risks include legal risks that are associated with the incorrect use of the tools by people that are either uneducated about the policies or ignorant. For example, in the workplace, when employees use social media and expose themselves in a bad mannered way, they may give their employers a bad image. other ways that legal risks are implicated are through trademark infringement, privacy, copyright, loss of confidential information, defamation, and nevertheless risk of reputation. therefore it is significant to establish a social media policy in order to educate employees and guide them on how they can use social media tools with proper manner in the workplace.
The example that will be used today is Telstra. Telstra has a policy called Telstra's 3Rs of social media engagement which applies to all employees of Telstra and anyone notified of the policy. the policy applies to all Telstra owned Australian subsidiaries. according to Telstra, their 3Rs policy of social media engagement are:
Today I'm going to talk about the legal risks when using social media.
Social media offers the opportunity for people to gather in online communities of shared interest and create, share or consume content. With the enhanced features provided by Web 2.0 and social media tools in general, breaking laws on the internet has become easier than before. social media tools are now essential tools we use to communicate among one another every day. previously in this blog, the benefits and risks of social media were elaborated on. with this said, organizations and businesses must be aware of the benefits and risks that come with utilizing social media tools. such risks include legal risks that are associated with the incorrect use of the tools by people that are either uneducated about the policies or ignorant. For example, in the workplace, when employees use social media and expose themselves in a bad mannered way, they may give their employers a bad image. other ways that legal risks are implicated are through trademark infringement, privacy, copyright, loss of confidential information, defamation, and nevertheless risk of reputation. therefore it is significant to establish a social media policy in order to educate employees and guide them on how they can use social media tools with proper manner in the workplace.
The example that will be used today is Telstra. Telstra has a policy called Telstra's 3Rs of social media engagement which applies to all employees of Telstra and anyone notified of the policy. the policy applies to all Telstra owned Australian subsidiaries. according to Telstra, their 3Rs policy of social media engagement are:
- Representation
- Responsibility
- Respect
These 3 Rs apply when using social media tools such as Facebook,etc.. Additionally, they apply to micro-blogging sites, video and photo sharing sites, blogs, forums, and online encyclopedias. Telstra has made a clear document to reveal its policy to ensure their employees aside by it.
Social media policy must provide information that is relevant and can be accepted but also list a clear code of conduct while highlighting penalties or punishment if the policies are not abides. it is essential for organizations to enforce these policies in order to educate their employees and reveal the consequences that may arise if the employees fail to comply. Moreover, organizations and business may choose to restrict some social media tools and generally strengthen their security methods to reduce the risks of security breach.
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That’s an interesting point Ramya, it is true that Telstra will be responsible for the comments that are posted on the Customer Care page and that misleading information can cause risk of litigation. Regardless I think they still need to answer customer queries on the Crowd Support page within their Customer Care page.
ReplyDeletecheers
Thankyou for your comment sultan. yes am also thinking that they need to answer the customer queries on the crowd support page within their customer care page.
DeleteThanks for this blog Ramya .. I've read throw the Telstra policy 3Rs of Social Media Engagement after I read your blog ... Telstra Staff cannot post any information confidential and able to be discussed or released in public .. In my opinion I think this is not right to to set rules about an employees personal use of Social Networking Sites !! While many others having the freedom to do that !!
ReplyDeleteHi Ebraheem
DeleteI agree with you about the freedom of personal use of social networking. But when it comes to institutional level, my understanding is, it is not personal anymore. Employees must understand the term "Confidential" specially when they hold responsible positions of an institute. Therefore I think it is a correct move by the Telstra and a good example for other institutions too.
Hi Ramya
ReplyDeleteYou've raised some interesting points about the possible dangers of companies using social media without being adequately prepared with a social media policy.
Do you think the positives of businesses using social media to connect with their customers (and potential new customers) out weigh the risks associated with using social media?
Hi Ben
DeleteI think the benefits of using social media for communicating with customers would be higher than the associated risks because in the current context, social media is practically being used in positive manner. However, we cannot disregard its risks hence it is very important to have well constructed policy to overcome the possible hazards.