HOW TO DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY 101

Travis WarrenW H I P P L E H I L L

Ron WeikersSOFTWARE-LAW.COM

How can your social media

policy support your mission?

Policies v.

Guidelines

Personalv.

Institutional

STUDENTS AND PARENTS

- Enrollment Contract

- Behavior Code or Contract

- Honor Code

- AUP - Acceptable Use Policy

- Photo and Video Releases

W H I P P L E H I L L

- Employment Contract

- Behavior Code or Contract

- AUP - Acceptable Use Policy

FACULTY AND STAFF

W H I P P L E H I L L

SITE ADMINISTRATORS

- Guidelines for:

- Parents, Students,

- Staff, Faculty

- Alumni/ae

W H I P P L E H I L L

BIG ITEMS

- Privacy

- Defamation

- Intellectual Property

- Harassment

W H I P P L E H I L L

- Laws, Rules & Regulations

- Case Law

PRIVACY

W H I P P L E H I L L

- Opinion

- Stating a fact

DEFAMATION

W H I P P L E H I L L

- School Logo, name

- Third Party logos, names,

- Images & Music

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

W H I P P L E H I L L

- Sampling

- Educational Purposes

FAIR USE

W H I P P L E H I L L

- may not initiate or administrate any social media site (blog, photo or video gallery, or other internet site) that takes SCHOOLNAME as its primary subject matter without written consent by SCHOOLNAME

COMMENTARY

W H I P P L E H I L L

- “Posting”

- “Tagging”

- “Friending”

DECISION POINTS

W H I P P L E H I L L

- “Posting”

- “Tagging”

- “Friending”

DECISION POINTS

W H I P P L E H I L L

➡ Student Newspaper

➡ Privacy Policy

➡ Behavior Code

POSTI

NG

TAGGING

FRIEN

DING

- Private Colleges or Universities

- Summer Camps

- Other Non-Profits

Looking for good examples?

http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

OPERATING POLICY ON BLOGGING AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE

SCHOOL respects the right of employees to create and use personal blogs and social media sites (such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) outside of their work time. Due to the rapid expansion of both personal and work-related blogging and social media use, many companies have developed policies on blogging and social media use to protect themselves and their employees from liability and negative publicity and also to give users some useful guidelines for their own protection.

! This document sets forth the Operating Policy of SCHOOL, and its affiliates, , with regard to the use of blogs, social media sites and similar online communication channels both during and after work time. All SCHOOL employees, as a condition of their employment, commit to observe and be bound by the provisions of this Operating Policy.

! In accordance with SCHOOL’s Code of Ethics (and Business Ethics Agreement, if applicable to you) and Employee Guide, your blogging and usage of social media sites should not interfere with your job or your responsibilities to SCHOOL, its customers, vendors, employees or other persons that provide services to SCHOOL. For this reason, and also because third parties may attribute to SCHOOL any personal blogging or social media posts you do using SCHOOL computers and networks, you may not update or contribute to your personal blog or make personal use of social media sites during work time.

! As an employee of SCHOOL, you have certain responsibilities to SCHOOL, its customers, vendors, employees and other persons that provide services to SCHOOL as detailed below.

1. ! Your personal blog or any personal social media posting you make is a personal publication and not a SCHOOL publication. If you choose to identify yourself as a SCHOOL employee, make clear to your readers that the views you express are yours alone and do not represent the views and opinions of SCHOOL. At a minimum you should include this disclaimer in your own blog or personal page on Facebook or other social media site: “The postings on this site are my own and I take full responsibility for them. I am not speaking as a representative of my employer, any company or organization.” Also, all references in your blogging to your position with SCHOOL or employment status must be accurate (for example, you may not represent yourself as an active employee if you are on leave). If you choose to disclose your position with SCHOOL, please use only the title or description of your position officially given to you by SCHOOL.

! As an employee of SCHOOL, you have certain responsibilities to SCHOOL, its customers, vendors, employees and other persons that provide services to SCHOOL as detailed below.

1. ! Your personal blog or any personal social media posting you make is a personal publication and not a SCHOOL publication. If you choose to identify yourself as a SCHOOL employee, make clear to your readers that the views you express are yours alone and do not represent the views and opinions of SCHOOL. At a minimum you should include this disclaimer in your own blog or personal page on Facebook or other social media site: “The postings on this site are my own and I take full responsibility for them. I am not speaking as a representative of my employer, any company or organization.” Also, all references in your blogging to your position with SCHOOL or employment status must be accurate (for example, you may not represent yourself as an active employee if you are on leave). If you choose to disclose your position with SCHOOL, please use only the title or description of your position officially given to you by SCHOOL.

2.! From time to time SCHOOL may choose to participate in blogs, social media sites or other online communications, and you may be asked to participate in such efforts, either by posting on a SCHOOL-sponsored blog or social media page or posting comments on third parties' blogs. All such communications may be deemed SCHOOL’s official communications. Therefore, before engaging in any such activity for work (or for any SCHOOL-sponsored program which you may participate in outside of work), you must discuss the intended nature and purpose of the blogging generally with SCHOOL’s Legal Department and Communications Department and follow any additional guidelines they provide. NOTE: This does NOT mean that all online communications must be submitted for prior legal and communications review, although this may be required in certain instances (such as those discussed below). However, the Legal and Communications Departments should be informed in advance of the goals and context of the intended blogging or social media usage so that they can assess any risks to SCHOOL which may be involved and work with you to manage those risks appropriately. (For example, Federal Trade Commission rules require you to identify your employment or affiliation with SCHOOL if you make posts on third parties' sites to advertise or promote SCHOOL or our products or services.) ! At a minimum, in work-related online communications, any summary or discussion of the terms or features of SCHOOL products or services (including, but not limited to, rates, rewards, charitable/philanthropic matching, minimum payments, etc.) must be pre-approved by SCHOOL’s Legal Department. If you are in doubt as to what may be appropriate to write, seek advice from SCHOOL’s Legal or Communications Department. When participating in work-related communications, you must identify your position or affiliation with SCHOOL. SCHOOL does not take responsibility for any publication except for those authorized by it. ! In some cases, SCHOOL department managers may wish to permit outside consultants (i.e., non-employees) to blog in connection with SCHOOL projects on which they are working. The same requirements and procedures that apply to SCHOOL employees under this Operating Policy shall also govern consultants' blogging activities on behalf of SCHOOL. SCHOOL managers must advise such consultants of this Operating Policy and are responsible for ensuring their full compliance with it.

3.!The same principles and standards that apply to your activities in general, as reflected in SCHOOL’s Code of Ethics (and Business Ethics Agreement, if applicable to you) and Employee Guide, apply online to the extent your activities may affect your performance, the performance of others, or SCHOOL’s business interests. Please bear in mind that blogs, social media posts and other online publications are potentially in the public domain, and, along with all blog or social media posts and other online communications made from SCHOOL computers or networks, are occasionally reviewed by SCHOOL. You have no expectation of privacy in any publicly accessible posts or in any posts (whether public or made on password-only sites) made using SCHOOL computers or networks. Screenshots or copies of all posts made from SCHOOL computers or networks may be stored on your hard drive or otherwise retrievable by SCHOOL. If you wish to keep your personal online communications private, you should make them using your computer at home and activate your privacy settings or set up a password system so that you can carefully control who accesses your posts.

4.! The following rules apply to BOTH the content of your personal blog or social media posts (even if you do not identify yourself as a COMPANY employee) AND the content of your contribution to an official SCHOOL blog, social media page or other online posting:

a.! Make sure you do not disclose or use information that is confidential or proprietary to SCHOOL, its customers, vendors, employees, affiliates or other persons that provide services to SCHOOL. Such information may include information that is available to you as a SCHOOL employee but that is not public knowledge; for example: customer information, financial information regarding SCHOOL or its performance, business projections, upcoming product, service or program details or timelines, information about SCHOOL’s business or marketing concepts and strategies, and other types of confidential and proprietary information.

b.! Do not cite, reference or discuss SCHOOL’s customers, vendors, employees or other persons that provide services to SCHOOL without their approval.

c.! Do not provide any information about SCHOOL, its business, or its competitors which is untrue, misleading or deceptive. Do not disparage SCHOOL’s competitors.

d.! Do not use trademarks, copyrighted material, logos or other similar intellectual property belonging to SCHOOL (in your personal posts), or SCHOOL’s customers or vendors. If you choose to use trademarks and logos belonging to other third parties, the following requirements apply:

(1)!Do not use third-party trademarks or logos in any way that attempts (or seems to attempt) to capitalize on their fame, reputation or familiarity to benefit you or SCHOOL, that seems to associate you, SCHOOL or the blog or other posting with the trademark or logo owner, or that seems to suggest any affiliation or endorsement by the owner (unless the owner's consent has been obtained).

(2)!To avoid complaints, do not use third-party trademarks and logos in connection with negative or derogatory posts.

(3)!Do not use third-party trademarks and logos in connection with any content that promotes a revenue-generating product or service (such as a product promotion).

(4)!The following disclaimer must be clearly visible on every page where third-party trademarks or logos appear and ideally should appear somewhere near the trademarks or logos. “Third-party trademarks used on this site are the property of their respective owners, and do not indicate any sponsorship or endorsement of, or affiliation with, “, as applicable, by such trademark owners.”

e.!Do not use expression that would constitute discrimination or harassment in violation of SCHOOL’s Equal Employment Opportunity and/or other policies in the Employee Guide, or that may reflect negatively on SCHOOL and affect its business, such as inflammatory political, racial or religious content.

! Failure to follow these rules may subject you to disciplinary action (up to and including termination) and may, in certain cases, depending on the information provided or on the circumstances, also be a violation of law resulting in civil or criminal liability.

General Writing Guide:

! If you decide to contribute to a blog, social media site or other online publication, whether for work, or on your own time, please keep the following guidelines in mind:

1.!Speak in the first person. Don't hide behind anonymity or attribute your comments to others. This will avoid possible liability or negative publicity for SCHOOL and will help build the credibility of your blog or social media presence.

2.!Respect copyright and other intellectual property rights of others. Beware when providing links to content which may infringe copyright. Do not post another person's photographs or comments that were intended to be private without that person's permission. Also, keep in mind that information posted online remains in the public domain for a very long time -- protect your own privacy.

3.! Respect your audience and others. Refrain from using ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, harassment and threats, as well as comments that invade the privacy of another person or organization. If you are uncomfortable about something you want to write, particularly if it concerns your job, take a step back and reconsider it.

4.! Focus on areas with which you are familiar and in which you have some expertise. This way you will attract more readers who will regard you as a credible source of information. If you make a mistake, take the high road by correcting it.

5.! If you open your blog or social media page to comments, please keep in mind that in certain circumstances you may be held responsible for the content of such comments and should take any necessary precautions to protect yourself.

! SCHOOL may change this Operating Policy from time to time at its discretion. In such cases, the updated version of this Operating Policy will be made available on [specify Intranet location, if applicable].