Web 2.0 Legal Issues:
Social Networks and Blogs
By Barbara F. Dunn, Esq. Web 2.0 features make it easy for people to reach out to others and share their personal stories, comments and opinions, and many organizations are beginning to wonder whether such applications can do more harm than good. There are also legal implications to the use of social networking technology, specifically related to the users and readers of the system.
6 Real-World Cases
Facebook posts by Pizza Kitchen owner lead to $2M suit 
Oceanside teen sues Facebook, ex-classmates for $3M
Swartz v. Does: Tennessee Couple Sues Anonymous Author(s) of Local Blog for Defamation and Invasion of Privacy
Judge Orders Twitter in the Court, Lets Bloggers Cover Abuse Trial
Woman Denied Degree Over 'Drunken Pirate' MySpace Photo, Sues School
A $50,000 Tweet: Landlord sues a tenant for mentioning her moldy apartment in a tweet to her
20 followers.
Face the Books
If individuals use commercial services such as Facebook, they must comply with the terms of the commercial service’s user agreement. If, however, organizations use their own social networking services, they must create and implement their own user agreements listing the dos and don’ts of service use—including rules regarding posting false, defamatory or inappropriate information.
User agreements should require users to indemnify the sponsoring organizations in the event that said organizations are drawn into lawsuits as a result of user posts. The documents should also state that if users violate the agreement, sponsoring organizations can terminate their participation. Note that user agreements may be physically signed by users or may be electronically signed using a “click-wrap” agreement. It is important that organizations retain a record of signed user agreements for future reference.
Blogs and Tweets
Blogs and micro-blogs, such as Twitter, can pose both challe
nges and opportunities for organizations. This instant journaling can be a wonderful way for organizations to communicate with their members concerning upcoming meetings and events. It’s also a great way for members to give feedback to organizations during and following meetings and events.
However, not all the content posted will be positive. The question then becomes what, if anything, organizations can do to address such remarks. Certainly, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permits free speech—unless that speech rises to the level of defamation, e.g., saying something false about someone’s work or character. Such speech is generally not actionable under the law, but may be actionable under a user agreement in place with the individual.
Take action
Are you doing everything you can to protect your organization against liability? Join attorney Barbara Dunn of Howe & Hutton, Ltd. for
Web 2.0 Legal Issues: Social Networks and Blogs as she walks through a variety of examples and provides insight on how to manage liability through user agreements, blog policies, disclaimers, indemnification, and insurance.