# Be careful of what you post on social media



## Hooked (2/11/17)

It's so easy to think that a comment that we make on social media, whether it's here in eciggsa or any other platform e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc., doesn't really matter. I came across an FB post about this how careful we should be and I'd like to share it with you. [USERGROUP=3]@Admins[/USERGROUP] the last point (No. 10) is particularly relevant to you and I must say it surprised me. I'm a moderator of an FB group and in future I'll pay much more attention to the content of posts! The following is quoted from the FB post.

1. Take great care in making accusations or negative statements about anyone or any entity - even if what you are saying is true. Under our law, statements MAY be defamatory EVEN IF THEY ARE true (Our law on defamation is not the same as in the States, which many people assume). In other words, you may be charged with defamation even if what you are saying is totally true. Something needs to be true AND in the public interest (not 'interesting to the public') in order for you to have a defence against defamation. Just avoid it. It's a minefield.

2. Do not talk about your boss, spouse, ex-spouse, ex-friend, neighbour etc in a negative way and certainly don't bring children into it! Even if you keep the identities of those people anonymous, you can still fall foul of the law if those people can be identified by their relationship to you.

3. Do not badmouth your company online. They are well within their rights to dismiss you, even if you are badmouthing them on your own personal, private Facebook page! (They can do the same if you express racist, sexist etc sentiments online - even if what you are saying has nothing to do with your company or anyone in it)

4. If your comments are (or may deemed to be) racist, sexist, discriminatory based on religion, culture, sexual preference etc they may amount to hate speech. This is a crime for which you can be prosecuted. (And you don't have to go as far as Penny Sparrow to get yourself in trouble)

5. Many people believe that they will be protected by the right to freedom of speech. Your freedom of speech ends when it infringes on another's right to dignity or privacy. Case law suggests that the courts take a pretty dim view of 'I have a right to say what I like" as a defence, when you have invaded someone's privacy or undermined their dignity.

6. 'Naming and shaming' is particularly risky -it can infringe on someone's right to privacy, can amount to harassment and can amount to defamation. Many people believe it is ok to post a picture of someone's car and registration plate if they are driving badly, haven't strapped their kids in or have parked in disabled parking. This can get you into huge trouble - particularly if you were breaking the law while getting the photo/footage (e.g. driving while taking pictures or video on your cell phone)

7. Anything posted online is considered to be 'published' and is therefore not the same as you expressing your opinion in the pub or amongst friends. You cannot use as a defence "It was my own personal opinion". Also, social media posts are not afforded the same protection / leeway under law as journalism.

8. Take great care regarding what you 'Like', repost, agree with in the comments section or retweet. If the post itself is defamatory, an invasion of privacy, hate speech etc, anyone who furthers its dissemination can be held liable.

9. If someone asks you to remove a post, do so immediately and count yourself lucky that you are getting a chance to do so.

10. Administrators can be held liable for the comments of its members, as it has provided the platform for such comments and posts to be made. As admin, you have a responsibility to remove such posts and distance yourself from those users (or block them). Having a policy is not protection enough.”

End of extract. Food for thought, hmmm?

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 3


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## Silver (2/11/17)

Thanks @Hooked 

Appreciate it

If you spot any dubious content here that we may have missed please report the post to us using the report button below the post or PM one of the admin and mod team.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Stosta (3/11/17)

Very informative read, thanks for sharing @Hooked !

Reactions: Like 1


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## RichJB (3/11/17)

I have a friend who posts whiny derogatory stuff about her clients on FB. Stuff like "Don't you just love it when ridiculously demanding clients make you work all weekend to save their arses for not being organised". I've asked her if she realises that her clients can actually see this stuff and she dismisses it with "Oh, they'd never visit my FB page". That's an almighty assumption to risk her career on.



Hooked said:


> Many people believe that they will be protected by the right to freedom of speech.



Freedom of speech is probably the most misunderstood right of all. It's not just that "you can't say what you like", it's that people have no grasp of what it entails or guarantees. It refers to the contract between govt and society, not to the relationship between private institutions and citizens. When News24 shut down comments on their site due to racist trolling, people were complaining about their freedom of speech being denied. It had nothing to do with freedom of speech. News24 is not the government, and them closing comments does not impact anybody's freedom of speech. If News24 was the government, shut down comments and then made it illegal for citizens to comment on all social media and/or to open their own websites where they could comment on Saffie issues, then it would become a freedom of speech issue.

Freedom of speech does not imply that people have to be given a platform to speak. If I want to make a long ranting speech about the government, a privately owned institution like a forum, a restaurant, cinema, sports club, bar, etc, does not have to give me a platform. If I am disturbing other patrons of that institution, they have every legal right to silence me and have me removed from the premises. Freedom of speech only means that _the government_ cannot _deny_ me a platform. Nobody is required to _provide_ me with a platform.

Reactions: Like 8 | Agree 1


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