In 2017, LinkedIn made several updates to its Terms of Service – comprised of its Privacy Policy and User Agreement – to provide for new LinkedIn features and give users some choices over how their information is used.
In general, the changes revolve around new features that are intended to increase profile visibility and make it easier for users to share and connect with each other. LinkedIn permits users to opt in or out of these features to accommodate individual privacy preferences.
Although the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) (18 U.S.C. § 1030) is a federal statute that primarily protects against unauthorized computer access such as hacking, it can also impact employers in the realm of social media. Originally enacted in 1984, CFAA makes it illegal to access knowingly or intentionally a “protected computer” without authorization or in excess of authorized access. Protected computers are defined broadly to include all computers that are used in or affect interstate commerce, and thus include most employer-owned computer systems. Violations of CFAA may result in criminal penalties, and CFAA also permits individuals (and employers) to bring a civil action for damages or injunctive relief. Employees rarely sue their employers under CFAA, but employers should nonetheless consider CFAA in formulating their social media policies and determining how they will regulate employee use of social media.
A South African High Court on March 8, 2017 reportedly gave a former estate agent five days to correct the employment information on his LinkedIn profile.
Three years after Mr. van der Schyff resigned from his position at Danie Crous Auctioneers, his profile still reflected that he was employed there. Despite two years’ worth of requests from the company to correct the information, eventually followed by a demand from its lawyer, van der Schyff refused to do so. The company then approached the court for an order to compel the profile correction.
We have previously written on social media account verification for businesses, in order to help customers deal only with the authentic brand. But what about authenticating your social media followers/users/fans/members?
Unfortunately, there are currently “no methodologies available that would provide us with an exact number of non-actual member types of accounts,” according to LinkedIn’s 10-K filing for 2015. (10-K at 18.) LinkedIn goes on to state that some of its “non-actual member types of accounts” are:
Will you instruct your executor to memorialise or close your Facebook account or will you sign up to DeadSocial to post goodbye messages posthumously? The US government has created guidelines for dealing with your digital afterlife. It also provides a
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) released two new sets of guidance regarding the use of social media to disseminate information about prescription drugs and medical devices. This guidance supplements years of FDA warning letters and untitled letters sent
When you delete your Twitter account:
From clicking “like” on Facebook to the +1 button on Google+ to the “Follow” or “Retweet” buttons on Twitter, the use of endorsements in social media has exploded since 2009. “Like” buttons and retweeting are growing trends in social media.
How many of us actually read social media terms of use? Be wary: you allow public information to be accessible over public search engines.
When you tweet you: