Every business can be exposed to social media legal risks if their employees use social media irresponsibly. It’s therefore important to maintain an employee social media use policy that is clear so that employees understand what is allowed and what is prohibited. If your policy is clear and easy to understand, it’s more likely that your employees will comply with it and keep your company out of trouble. More importantly, if your company finds itself in a position where it needs to discipline or fire an employee for something they posted on social media, having a clear policy makes it easier to take action against them.
As a social media attorney for businesses, we’ve reviewed many social media policies that contain difficult to read, and therefore unlawful work rules. Here are tips you can use to write a clear and enforceable social media policy:
Use Plain English
Employees need to understand the specific types of activity that is prohibited on social media. Employers should therefore avoid confusing legal jargon and sophisticated technical terms. Be careful to avoid acronyms or abbreviations that may not be understood by all employees, or by anyone else viewing the policy. If acronyms or abbreviations are unavoidable, then add those terms to the glossary.
Define Key Concepts
Sometimes employees don’t know what your policy means, and therefore don’t know how to comply with it. One ted method of avoiding ambiguity in your social media policy is to provide definitions of key terms — either within the text itself, or as part of a glossary of terms at the end of the document. By defining important terms such as “confidential data,” “trade secrets,” and “customer information,” your company and employees will be on the same page as to what should not be posted online.
Be Specific
Your policy should include clear and specific rules that are not open to interpretation. A plain reading of each work rule should leave employees with no confusion over the permissible and prohibited use of social media. For example, a work rule stating “employees may not post inappropriate messages on social media sites” would likely be considered unlawfully vague, as it may be interpreted differently by different people.
For instance, a recent college graduate who grew up in the Internet age may have a different idea of what constitutes “appropriate” social media activity than the company’s senior executives. Younger employees could interpret this clauses as prohibiting them from speaking negatively about their supervisor, which is not allowed under the law – especially if their supervisor is treating them unfairly or unlawfully.
A more appropriate provision could state that “Employees may not post obscene, pornographic, sexually charged, or similar offensive language.” Or, you could say “Employees may not post harassing or discriminating content based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other status protected by law.” These work rules provide clear and specific examples regarding the type of content that employees would reasonably understand to violate the policy.
By following these tips, your company can better protect itself from social media legal risks. Another way to protect your company is by having a social media risk assessment that can help you determine the specific legal risks your business faces from social media. By conducting a social media risk assessment, you’ll learn which social media activities expose your company to lawsuits, data breaches, and privacy concerns so that you can take action to better protect your business today.
