4 Subcommittee on Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence. DHS social media and media monitoring: Improve information collection and ensure privacy. 16 February 2012. Washington, D.C. Available at homeland.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-dhs-monitoring-social-networking-and-media-enhancing-intelligence. Any social media platform should also be monitored frequently for non-compliant content. If a comment or other post containing offensive content is made, that content should be removed. There is a fine line to follow here, as regulators like the ACCC would not approve of a company removing comments as long as it is criticizing a company for no other reason. Regulators often recognize that a company cannot fully control the public. In addition, a company can use social media for informal background checks of potential employees. However, it is always advisable to keep up with laws regarding social media and workers` rights.
A number of fundamental rights stemming from the U.S. Constitution may be involved in social media use cases – freedom of speech, search and seizure issues, privacy rights, and due process denial. A brief overview of these areas can provide a basis for discussing topics in the context of social media. Mention how often passwords for social media accounts need to be changed and who is responsible. Provide a schedule to check for updates to all software tools in your organization so that they are equipped to defend against security threats. For pharmacists, pharmacy students, and pharmacy technicians, restrictions on the use of social media to promote products subject to FDA regulation may be an additional consideration.34 While social media communications tend to be less formal than traditional print promotions, the same disclosure rules apply. Similarly, a person considering setting up a company should avoid soliciting investments that could make the disclosure an offering of securities and activate the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Federal and state anti-fraud laws prohibit the use of false or misleading statements when selling securities and apply to any offer to sell.
Social media sites allow users and businesses to post content, including content that may be protected by copyright or trademark. Posting can be done not only by employees of organizations that use social media, but also by fans and visitors to a company`s social media site. Organizations may face claims of infringement (directly or as a result of vicarious liability) because copyrighted or trademarked material is published by them or by third parties. Everyone at the company knows this, but a social media policy reminds them to be polite and agreeable when engaging with others online. If your employees disagree with someone online, they should politely express and justify their disagreement. A harsh or pure argument can quickly turn into an argument and go viral. This can damage your brand image. The popularity of new social media apps such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger has grown rapidly in recent years. The younger generations were mainly the first to adopt these technologies; However, older generations are quickly becoming part of the social media user population.1 Facebook alone has 400 million users, with the fastest growing age group 35 and older.2 Partly due to the popularity of these apps, the paradigm of social communication is changing. moving from the traditional face-to-face or phone model to one that uses a variety of web-based social media applications. These technologies are so common that they have begun to disrupt elements of our social fabric. In 2008, Duncan said: According to Chen, « A small company should make it clear that anything employees post has the potential to have an impact on the business.
Threats of violence, hate speech and harassment can be illegal and are most likely contrary to company policy. A final category of ethical issues related to social media concerns the nature of social networking relationships. Faculty members who become Facebook « friends » with students is a somewhat controversial topic. Does this blur the line between a faculty member and a student? Even if a faculty member is very conscientious in what is posted, they may be aware of the personal information of student « friends » who commit illegal acts, commit transgressions of professionalism39 or show signs of depression or anger that could potentially cause harm to that particular student or others.
