I was sitting in my kitchen this morning going through my normal Saturday morning routine. Having a homemade Amish doughnut made by the Amish restaurant in town and a large cup of coffee. (I know the doughnuts are not made by real Amish people but just by the people they hire. They are still good though.) As I was reading the paper (also a part of the routine) I came across an article that got me thinking…
The story was about how web profiles on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace can negatively affect clients defending themselves against cases such as drunken driving accidents. In a couple of cases when the person driving was found to be drunk and they did bodily harm to another their social networking page hurt their case. The photos stored on their site showed them to either be at parties with alcohol, drinking alcohol, or wearing clothes that advertised for alcohol. Showing a defendant for a drunken driving charge having a good time with drink in hand right before sentencing damaged their case and they received stiffer penalties.
This does not have much to do with corporate discovery cases yet but stay with me on this one. It got me thinking about how a lawyer might look to new locations for discovery requests when companies are being sued by their employees. For example let’s say that a disgruntled employee is fabricating a harassment claim against the company they work for from a recent company party they attended. If employees at those companies posted photos of the event in question on their social networking sites then those photos could be misinterpreted in favor of the employee filing the complaint. The actions of a few at the party might be captured in digital form showing that the party was either out of control or unsafe.
Although I do not know of any cases yet where discovery requests were sent to FaceBook or Myspace for personal photos (I am sure that it has happened), I am sure as these sites grow the risk will become greater. Personally I have gone to my fellow employees’ blogs or profiles to see pictures from events that I could not attend. I have also learned just by doing this blog that my company has polices that serve to protect them from liability and protect myself form posting anything that could get me into trouble (see “The Fine Print” to the right).
As an employee for a public company your actions in public are not only a reflection on you but a reflection on the type of employees the company you work for hires. The types of things you post on your social networking site reflect upon your public life and since most post what company they work for on those sites it could also reflect upon the company you work for as well. I heard a lawyer once say that there is a “grandmother test” to find out if you are doing something that could be deemed inappropriate or illegal. If you can’t describe to your grandmother what you were doing in that photo you posted of yourself at that party then it probably should not be posted. :)
Article Source: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/07/19/Facebook_evidence.ART_ART_07-19-08_A1_PVAPRIU.html?sid=101
Technorati Tags:
eDiscovery, Social Networking, Web Profiles, Risk, Facebook, Myspace
The story was about how web profiles on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace can negatively affect clients defending themselves against cases such as drunken driving accidents. In a couple of cases when the person driving was found to be drunk and they did bodily harm to another their social networking page hurt their case. The photos stored on their site showed them to either be at parties with alcohol, drinking alcohol, or wearing clothes that advertised for alcohol. Showing a defendant for a drunken driving charge having a good time with drink in hand right before sentencing damaged their case and they received stiffer penalties.
This does not have much to do with corporate discovery cases yet but stay with me on this one. It got me thinking about how a lawyer might look to new locations for discovery requests when companies are being sued by their employees. For example let’s say that a disgruntled employee is fabricating a harassment claim against the company they work for from a recent company party they attended. If employees at those companies posted photos of the event in question on their social networking sites then those photos could be misinterpreted in favor of the employee filing the complaint. The actions of a few at the party might be captured in digital form showing that the party was either out of control or unsafe.
Although I do not know of any cases yet where discovery requests were sent to FaceBook or Myspace for personal photos (I am sure that it has happened), I am sure as these sites grow the risk will become greater. Personally I have gone to my fellow employees’ blogs or profiles to see pictures from events that I could not attend. I have also learned just by doing this blog that my company has polices that serve to protect them from liability and protect myself form posting anything that could get me into trouble (see “The Fine Print” to the right).
As an employee for a public company your actions in public are not only a reflection on you but a reflection on the type of employees the company you work for hires. The types of things you post on your social networking site reflect upon your public life and since most post what company they work for on those sites it could also reflect upon the company you work for as well. I heard a lawyer once say that there is a “grandmother test” to find out if you are doing something that could be deemed inappropriate or illegal. If you can’t describe to your grandmother what you were doing in that photo you posted of yourself at that party then it probably should not be posted. :)
Article Source: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/07/19/Facebook_evidence.ART_ART_07-19-08_A1_PVAPRIU.html?sid=101
Technorati Tags:
eDiscovery, Social Networking, Web Profiles, Risk, Facebook, Myspace
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