Section A The use of social networks can be a great tool for your personal life and business, but it can be equally as damaging if it is not used wisely. Many people are unaware of the detrimental effects of posting before thinking. In the field of Marketing, there will be many jobs that will require the utilization of social media and networking. Some precautions I will make sure to practice when I am faced with this situation are: 1) Learn my employee rights and responsibilities. Learning the corporate policy on social networking will set clear the do’s and don’ts of posting information online. 2) Limit personal use of social networking to my own time and resources, making sure to never engage in personal activities on company time or means. 3) Exercise discretion, and making sure to never share sensitive or confidential company information, including posting negative comments about employer, or current or potential clients and customers. People should always be aware that once something is posted, they lose control over it immediately, even if they have the most secured internet settings.
SMLaw Social Media Policy
As a law firm, SMLaw is held to a high standard when dealing with online communications. Certain rules of ethics must be followed by all SMLaw employees participating in social media to keep SMLaw from violating these rules. The main focus of this Social Media Policy is to avoid the dangers that online communication presents for legal professionals. In perspective, below are suggested guidelines and a list of things to avoid when communicating with the public via any social media outlet.
All social media accounts, blogs, Web pages and related content carrying the SMLaw brand identity are and will be owned and licensed by SMLaw as appropriate and all use of SMLaw's name, logo and/or related marks require express, written consent of SMLaw. If SMLaw is referenced in any media, all social media guidelines apply.
Guidelines
1) Always remember that the internet is never anonymous. Everything that is written and posted online can very easily be tracked back to the author one way or another. Posts in one forum are often copied in others through reposts or references.
2) Always be honest and respectful in your work life and your personal life. Because tracing posts back to their author is easy, finding the actual identity of that person is not impossible. This creates a way for outside parties to link your personal writings to those you’ve done professionally. Never write anything you would not say out loud to all parties involved.
3) Avoid risky materials. Do not post or link to any materials that are defamatory, harassing or indecent.
4) Maintain confidentiality. Do not post any confidential or proprietary information in regards to SMLaw or its clients. This also includes the personal information of the employees and other individuals associated with the services that we are delivering. SMLaw Personnel information should not be shared on or disclosed through social media.
5) Do not retaliate. If a negative post or comment is found online about SMLaw or yourself, do not counter it by posting a negative post or comment back. Instead, try to publicly remedy the situation by offering positive action.
6) Never offer legal advice. We should not give legal advice using social media. This must be done through regular procedures in order to avoid conflicts and other ethical problems.
Section B
The issue of privacy is viewed differently in Italy than it is in the United States. In general, Italy has more individual protections for its citizens. This is demonstrated in the 2006 case of 4 Google Executives being brought up on charges of defamation and failure to exercise control over data. These charges stemmed from a group of teenagers who taped themselves verbally and physically abusing a kid with Down Syndrome and posting it onto Google Video Italia. The three minute taping was taken down after a couple hours of it being posted due to complaints from the general public, but an Italian Down Syndrome support group decided that it should have never been posted in the first place. In February of 2010, three of the four men were convicted of violating the youth’s privacy and each received a suspended six month sentence. This same situation would not have happened in the United States because companies are protected by the safe harbor provision; which is a legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. The media, under American law, is protected by the First Amendment right to free speech, as long as the published (or broadcast) material does not violate an individual’s personal privacy and can either be verified to be true or presented as an opinion (and not a statement of fact). This condition is why many such lawsuits do not prevail in the United State courts. The right of privacy is definitely intertwined in the workplace setting. In Italy, the Workers’ Charter forbids employers from investigating an employee’s political, religious or trade union opinions. Additionally, in February 2010, it was ruled that companies cannot spy on employees who surf the Web during office hours (sentence No. 4375/2010, the Court of Cassation, Job Section); it is considered "a breach of their privacy and autonomy".