Does Your Boss Really Own Your Social Media Accounts?

http://sommafirm.com/whos-the-boss-of-social-media
Does Your Boss Really Own Your Social Media Accounts?
You've set up and tailored your Facebook profile with a bunch of personal information and a flattering photo that catches you in just the ideal light (so what if it's from 2005). In just a few weeks, your list of friends and followers has grown in leaps and bounds.

LinkedIn now hosts your professional resume and the hundreds of professional contacts you've established over the course of an occupation.

You've created a memorable Twitter manage and found the best avatar to go with it. Hundreds of homeowner are following your every tweet.

And, that stunning panoramic try of the Grand Canyon you took with your new DSLR cam makes for the best cover photo on your Google profile. Your Circles have expanded to include hundreds of homeowner and pages.

Wow, you're a social media guru! You've established a presence that is really all you. You own it ... Or do you?

Along comes a job opportunity you can't pass up. You follow corporate method and supply two-weeks' notice. After all, you're a professional. You offer to assist with the transition-- train your replacement, stay a little longer if needed or even supply some support after you've left.

But is Your Work Social Media?

Then you're hit with it-- your soon-to-be former boss insists that you pass on the login credentials to all those social media accounts you set up because, he says, they belong to the company. And you're like, "What?! Can they do that?".

A number of cases addressing this really issue are currently winding their way through the courts.

Companies asserting ownership of social media accounts suggest they consist of trade secrets, proprietary and/or confidential information. Not surprisingly, these arguments have met with mixed results. After all, social media is anything but secret or confidential.

Because of this, companies are adjusting how they manage the social media accounts that staff members are using to increase business contacts and promote the company.

However, as pointed out in a previous post, an employer who gets access to a person's social media account without authorization runs the risk of breaching federal anti-hacking laws along with state privacy laws.

So one way to avoid these legal battles over social media is for the company to establish and maintain ownership and editorial control of the accounts from the get go.

Ownership of login credentials is one sure way to do just that. Editorial control over posts and contacts is another. And to avoid any question or confusion, employers are frequently requiring that staff members sign a written agreement clearly explaining that ownership and control of social media accounts belongs to the company.

Have you been asked to hand over social media accounts? Did you sign a social media ownership agreement?


Wow, you're a social media guru! Companies asserting ownership of social media accounts suggest they consist of trade secrets, proprietary and/or confidential information. Social media is anything but secret or confidential.

Ownership of login credentials is one sure way to do just that. And to avoid any question or confusion, employers are frequently requiring that staff members sign a written agreement clearly explaining that ownership and control of social media accounts belongs to the company.