Minding Others’ Business: Navigating Gossip, Defamation, and Employee Use of Social Media

Online review sites such as Angie's List, Yelp and Amazon.com have exploded, increasing the risk that companies may have to address disparaging reviews. Businesses must balance this brand management with the potential liability presented by employees’ unfettered use of social media or, paradoxically, for unlawfully limiting employees’ ability to use social media as a tool to discuss working conditions. 

We will explore the challenges that the internet, and specifically social media, present for companies. This includes:

• whether to bring or threaten a lawsuit relating to a negative review

• handling employee-generated social media content

• protections available to operators of interactive computer services under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

• the extent to which a company can, or should, police employee social media use. 

Location:

directions

CLE:

1.5 hours of NC CLE pending.

Cost:

No cost for students, full-time law school faculty and staff,

and RTAC-ACC members and their non-lawyer colleagues.

$25 for ACC-eligible non-members.

Checks payable to RTAC-ACC or cash can both be used at the door.

By credit card, send payment to rtac@acc.com through PayPal.

About the speakers:

Eric David 

Eric David focuses his practice in business litigation, First Amendment law, and media and communications law. See his complete bio here.

Jessica Thaller-Moran

Jessi Thaller-Moran focuses her practice on complex business matters, including issues of employee management and corporate governance. See her complete bio here.