Social Media Policies Doug MacLeod Labour & Employment Lawyer MacLeod Law Firm

Social Media Facts If Facebook were a country it would be the 3 rd largest country in the world (845 active monthly users and 483 million active daily users) 71% of companies use Facebook and 59% use twitter 43% of companies use blogs for marketing purposes Almost 50% of Canadians participate in social media in some form

Reasons for Managing Social Media in the Workplace Promoting the organization’s brand Protecting the organization’s reputation Protecting confidential information Managing productivity Managing legal exposure

Different Approaches to Managing Social Media in the Workplace Guidelines which serve an educative function A policy which is a term of employment

Different Approaches to Introducing a Social Media Policy Stand alone policy Embedded in an existing policy such as an electronics communication policy or a computer use policy

Should an Employee have Access to Social Media in the Workplace? Recruiting issues Nature of an employee’s job duties Extent to which the organization uses social media Productivity issues

Can an Employee Use Personal or Company Property (like computers and smartphones) to Access Social Media Sites during Working Hours? Block access Monitor access Unlimited access

What Restrictions Should be Imposed on an Employee’s Right to Comment on Social Media? Define Scope of policy: Does it apply to any communication that relates to the organization, its employees, directors, customers, suppliers and/or its competitors? Does it apply to anything on the organization’s internal network?

Should an Employee have a Duty to Inform the Employer if he/she Discovers any Negative Comments about the Organization through Social Media? Duty of fidelity: Protecting the organization’s brand Designate a person within the organization to respond to social media comments

Potential Legal Exposure Associated with Social Media Potential human rights violations Requiring an employee to provide access to his/her Facebook account Sexual harassment Potential workplace harassment complaints Potential defamation actions Material posted by employees on the employer’s social media platforms (I.e. The employer’s website, twitter accounts, Facebook page, LinkedIn page, and/or YouTube channel) Defamatory material transmitted from one employee to another employee on the employer’s internal network

Can an Employer use Information Obtained from an Employee’s Personal Social Media Sites to Discipline the Employee? Legal decisions Discharge upheld: Personal caregiver created a blog and published resident information and photographs with the client’s consent. Discharge upheld: Hospital employee photographed and posted on Facebook pictures of the area where a patient had jumped to his death Note: All Facebook firings have been upheld.

Who Owns an Employee’s Business Social Media Accounts? PhoneDog v. Kravitz (A US case) Noah Kravitz was hired as a product reviewer and video blogger at PhoneDog and he was given use of a twitter account with the handle with which to disseminate information on behalf of the company, and to promote its services. Over amassed 17,000 followers. After resigning his employment with PhoneDog, Kravitz began working for a competitor. He continued tweeting under handle. Athough he later changed the account’s name the 17,000 followers continued to follow Mr. Kravitz’s tweets. PhoneDog has sued Kravitz, asserting claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, interference with prospective employment advantage, and conversion, based on his use of the PhoneDog handle and his retention of the twitter account’s followers.

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