facebook and free speech

NaeNae55

Here is an interesting article about Facebook and free speech. The article refers to students, but I am sure could apply to businesses as well. Of course, in schools the online activity has to be disruptive in class. In business you can claim negative postings affect the reputation of the business. Read it and tell me what you think.

[url]http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/02/student-facebook-tirade-against-teacher-is-protected-speech/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wired/index+(Wired:+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))[/url]

Still Need Coffee

Nae, this is so timely - we have a situation right now where we just realized a former employee's LinkedIn profile has outright false information in it (including her title!). We want to get the information removed, or at least changed to reflect more accurate statements, but do we actually have a legal basis for doing so?

As your article states, the information isn't harming our business, really, so would it be OK in the courts?

Not sure what to do here, or how far we want to go - due to some unfortunate termination circumstances, we really don't want false information associated with this individual - it actually could harm us in the end.

Sharon McKnight SPHR

Students who make defamatory comments about their teachers (or anyone else for that matter) whether in person or online will probably have to answer for those comments at some point. If the party to which they refer can prove their comments are false then, most likely, they'll sue the student for defamation in civil court. Is what this student did online any more damaging than the good old fashioned rumor spreading that students have been doing for decades? Probably, if for no other reason than it's more public.

Misstating credentials on LinkedIn isn't really any different than fudging on resumes. We just didn't have a way to catch it unless an employer called to check references. It would be galling, though, to know that a former employee claimed to be in a position he wasn't actually in. As employers we can establish policies to protect our rights and we can hold our employees accountable for violating those policies. With former employees, it's a whole different ball game.

Being in a free country allows us to say what we think. Those we harm with our words are also allowed to take us to court for what we've said. They can do that whether we've said anything defamatory or not. Everyone has the right to sue in the USA. Unfortunately, the cost of filing a law suit is often a deterrent to obtaining justice.

Just my two cents.

Sharon

Paul in Cannon Beach

This is an interesting ruling. I feel sorry for teachers. Add this burden to the long list of challenges they face.

For employers I think it reaffirms the need to have a social media presence and know what is being said about you. You can't always control perception but you certainly don't want to be ignorant.

I think employees will think twice about what they post online if they feel it may be seen by their employer. That said, its almost impossible to control what ex-employees can say.

We had an ex-employee write something on Facebook recently that was very negative about us (she had quit after being demoted due to attitude and performance issues). I was alerted to the post but I chose not to respond in any way. Interestingly, a group of our current and past employees jumped in and responded to her defending our organization.

So in a sense, the problem took care of itself. Still, its not pleasant to see negative things written about your company in a public forum even if they are untrue.

mandrews

This former employee may be falsely beefing up her credentials, but the bottom line is that any employer who might consider hiring her should be doing their homework to ensure that her credentials are legit in the first place. Legally pursuing her to remove any false information from her LinkedIn account would likely cost you thousands of dollars so it's a question of how much damage is she really causing the company and if those damages can be quantified - that's what the courts will look at ultimately.

Paul in Cannon Beach

I agree. I could care less what someone puts on their Linked In profile. If they want to appear foolish when their ruse is exposed, that's their perogative.

If they are communicating false information on their application, that will be revealed if a future employer does a work history verification.