Ethics and Policies with Social Media
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| http://ow.ly/hZm4V |
The first amendment is typically the most memorable and is one of the reasons that the country was founded. Freedom of speech has long been a staple of American life. With the development of social media, freedom of the press and freedom of speech has become an issue on a much grander scale. Social media allows millions of people to interact and share with one another within seconds. Social media is an important resource, but it must be managed properly.
The first amendment is one of the most used policies on social media sites. Most social media sites are careful to allow their users to own their own speech, posts and pictures, while still reserving the ability to monitor and control any use that is against company policies. Since harassment is an ethical issue of social media, most sites that host user pages and connections try to cut down on the possibility of harassment through their site. This is offered with users having the ability to flag comments deemed inappropriate. User privacy policies and settings for the site can allow social media follower to decide who to allow access to their materials.
Another big issue with social media sites is the use of copyright or patented software. On various websites across the web, users may share music and software that is licensed only for the person who has purchased the software. This is an ethical and legal issue, as many software developers and artists have sued to get sites shut down over inappropriate use of copyright material.
Company social media policies are also an issue for those who run businesses and those who are employees. Many businesses have social media clauses for employees and require their workforce to comply with certain standards of social media use. These policies are used to protect the reputation of a company. Companies must be careful to comply within the bounds of the first amendment with these standards, so that they are both ethical and legal. Company social media policies are enforceable but they should not cross the line of privacy infringement of employees.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/technology/employers-social-media-policies-come-under-regulatory-scrutiny.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/tag/social-media
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I agree that the development of social media has increased the issues with freedom of speech. I think this means that instead of relying on laws to regulate writing and such, people should use their own common sense when posting and take responsibility for their opinions! Even if they are just sharing someone else's thoughts, its still their job to report for their actions.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that it is important for companies to enforce social media policies but then again like you said, where are they crossing the line of personal freedom of speech? It's tough to say other than they just need to be careful about how the policy is written/enforced.
ReplyDeleteGood summary of the issue. It seems to me that anyone who is in charge of web or social media for a business or to make money should be required to take a class or test to teach people what the relevant rights of the company and the content are.
ReplyDelete