Irish HR Meeting Wednesday 18 th April 2012 Deloitte
Social Media Snapshot 2012 Irish Internet Association (State of the Net – Quarterly Bulletin – Spring 2012) Sunday Business Post 8 th April 2012 IRN Conference 2012 – remains top concern for employers 1 billion tweets posted per week 242 million apps downloaded Christmas Day 2011 In 2011 YouTube had more than 1 trillion views Social Media and the news – PR Issues going Viral!
Legal Issues Social Media largely untested in Irish legal system Defamation - Who is liable? Consumer Protection Issues - CPA 07 – EU Developments Intellectual Property Issues – Patents/Copyright/Trademark Data Protection and Privacy Issues – The Facebook Audit Employment Law and Hot Topics
Employment Law Hot Topics Ownership Issues - Who “owns” LinkedIn Contacts and Groups? PenWell Publishing (UK) Limited v Ornstein & Others [2007] IRLR 700 Hayes Specialist Recruitment (Holdings) Limited and anor v Ions and anor [2008] All ER 216 Recruitment Issues – Can an employee be asked for their Social Media Passwords at Interview?
Employment Law Hot Topics Is an employee free to upload CV to LinkedIn or express an interest in new “opportunities”? - Flexman v BG Group Plc – Constructive Dismissal Company blogs – How to handle liability issues which arise Is blocking access to twitter and facebook private accounts at work an infringement of employees rights?
Attitude of Irish Courts/Tribunals Emma Kiernan v A wear Limited [UD 643/2007] Walker v Bausch & Lomb [2008] Aoife O’Mahony v PJF Insurances Limited [UD 933/2010] Attitude of Courts in other Jurisdictions
What Employers Must Do Now!! Review and Internet Policies –Incorporate Social Media Policy or Draft Social Media Policy now!! What should a Social Media Policy cover? Training and Awareness are Key!!
Future Challenges Embrace Social Media but be vigilant! – Reputational Risk Scope of Workplace becoming broader Developing Law in relation to ownership and privacy issues Social Media and Schools Litigation – Service of Proceedings via social media