Social Media: Legal Issues for Businesses

Briefing content

What are the legal, contractual and socioeconomic risks of using social media sites by businesses? How can these risks be identified and minimised? How should they be addressed?

Social media sites are designed to be “easy-in”, but are they as easy to terminate? Are there any special provisions in social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn for companies who use those sites as opposed to individuals?

What is “the right to be forgotten”? Who is proposing it? Is it likely to be taken up? If so when and by whom? In what areas can social media be safely used by businesses? In recruitment? In marketing, promotion and advertising? What are the consequences of that use on contract termination?

Social media in the context of employment is of particular concern. What are the rules about collecting and using data when recruiting, monitoring and disciplining staff? How do those rules apply in the context of social media?

Dai Davis is a partner at his own law firm Percy Crow Davis & Co as well as a Chartered Engineer. He is also an active member of the Information Systems Security Association and is therefore well placed to speak on these issues. Among the aspects of social media that Dai will cover are:

• How and when is social media used in companies?
• Copyright, confidential information and defamation in the context of social media
  
• Contracts with social media organisations
• Data protection and the business - when is it of concern?
• Data protection in the context of employees: collecting data when recruiting employees; monitoring data about employees; using data when disciplining employees
• Data collected about employees using social media sits
• Use and misuse of social media by employees
• Control and ownership of data - data protection issues
  
• Related issues: passwords, security and mobile telephones
• Best practice in the use of social media by companies
• Working towards a social media policy for the business
  

Costs

• £150.00 incl VAT (1 delegate)