Social media is an evolving - and frequently contentious - area of PR practice, the profile of which continues to grow. It is therefore appropriate for the CIPR to issue guidance to its Members and the wider PR community on how social media should be handled.
The CIPR’s social media guidelines were prepared in consultation with the Professional Practices Committee, and approved by the Board and Council. They have benefited significantly from member response and input. They have been produced in the form of an advice note and aim to demystify and to raise awareness of the issues, the potential and the pitfalls of social media.
These guidelines cover the following topics:
Click here for a print version of the guidlines.
‘Social media‘ is the term commonly given to websites and online tools which allow users to interact with each other in some way – by sharing information, opinions, knowledge and interests. As the name implies, social media involves the building of communities or networks, encouraging participation and engagement.
Blogs are perhaps the most well known example of social media, but the term encompasses other platforms. Examples include podcasts, ‘wikis’ (such as Wikipedia), message boards, social bookmarking websites (such as del.icio.us), social networking websites (such as bebo, MySpace) and content sharing websites (such as flickr, YouTube).
‘Social media’ can be referenced in a variety of ways, often depending on which sector is discussing it. Other terms which may be used in a similar context include ‘social software’, ‘social computing’ and ‘Web 2.0’. For convenience we use ‘social media’ throughout.
The growing popularity of social media has attracted the attention of companies who believe that these platforms open up new opportunities for communication. The opportunities are indeed there, as are the pitfalls. Organisations that apply the usual methods of dealing with the media can get into deep trouble, but that doesn’t mean that the ‘rule book’ can be completely disregarded. There are areas – both legally and in terms of best practice – that are still applicable whether dealing online or offline.
Public relations practitioners, especially those who are members of CIPR, have a particular duty in this area - and indeed an opportunity to set standards. In general, members should err on the side of disclosure, even where there might not seem an overriding professional obligation to do so. For example, we recommend that any CIPR member running a personal blog, whether or not it deals with public relations related issues, should normally state on it the nature of their employment. When posting a comment on another blog it may also be advisable to state that you work in the public relations profession. Obviously there can be circumstances where this is not appropriate but if, for example, a blog entry or comment results in a complaint to the CIPR alleging a breach of the Code of Conduct, the onus will be on the member to show why he did not include that information.
Equally, members should know that reputation is holistic – it is not possible to sustain one image created through conventional media alongside a completely different one created through social media. Old and new media interact and members should bear that interaction in mind. Reputation is one continuum. Social media presents many traps in this regard.
All CIPR members are bound by the Code of Conduct which is based around three principles: Integrity, Competence and Confidentiality. The Code of Conduct should be adhered to when engaging in any public relations practice and there are elements within the Code's principles which are specifically relevant to any member giving consideration to social media.
Integrity: Integrity is key to the ethical treatment of social media, as indeed it is key to all elements of professionalism. It requires that members are honest and open in their use of social media.
Members should have regard for the public interest. They should be accurate when disseminating information. They should never use social media knowingly to mislead clients, employees, employers, colleagues or fellow professionals. The issue of authorship is clearly relevant here, and is touched on further in this document.
Competence: Members should, in this area as in others, be aware of the limitations of their professional competence, and should therefore be willing to accept or delegate only that work for which they are suitably skilled and experienced. They should ensure that the services they provide are costed and accounted for in a manner that conforms to accepted business practice and ethics.
Members' use of social media must be transparent, and they must make extra effort to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. They should, if writing or contributing to a blog which recommends a service supplier, make clear any financial interest they or their client might have in doing so. They should make timely and public declarations of any conflicts of interest or the circumstances which might give rise to them.
In this regard, particular care should be taken when ‘ghosting’ a blog. The drafting of material by public relations professionals for their clients naturally has a role to play in many areas of professional endeavour. But where a blog is run entirely, or almost entirely, without detailed oversight by the supposed author (or ‘public face’) of the blog, then serious questions of integrity arise and these should be addressed fully with the clients.
Confidentiality: Material posted using social media should not disclose privileged information. Confidences of present and former clients and employers should be safeguarded. Care should be taken to avoid using confidential and ‘insider’ information to the disadvantage or prejudice of clients and employers, or to self-advantage of any kind. Confidential information should not be disclosed unless specific permission has been granted by the parties concerned; or unless it is in the public interest; or unless required to do so by law.
Members should bear in mind that failure to adhere to the Code could lead to disciplinary action, with sanctions up to and including expulsion from the CIPR.
The comments above are intended only as an outline of some of the issues raised by the three Code principles. They do not in any way supercede the full text of the Code, which can be found here. Should a complaint be made, the onus would be on the Member concerned to explain why they had not adhered to the guidance contained in this document.
N.B. These guidelines do not constitute legal advice. Action should be taken only after specific legal advice has been sought. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations accepts no liability for any action taken or not taken as a result of this information.
A growing number of organisations are incorporating social media into their communications. As a relatively new phenomenon, this is still, in legal terms, a developing area. While the medium may be different, however, many of the legal considerations associated with print and broadcast need to be borne in mind. In the absence of legislation relating specifically to social media, UK practice has tended to use established areas of the law as a starting point in cases to date.
There are several areas to consider:
Intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) describes ownership of an intellectual 'product' which may have commercial value. IP encompasses the following areas: copyright, trademarks, patents and design.
Trademarks include logos, slogans and words, and are 'signs' used to distinguish products or services of one company from another. A trademark owner has the right to prevent unauthorised use of that trademark.
Copyright covers material including literature, music, film, audio and art. If material is copyrighted, the copyright owner has certain economic and moral rights – for example, the right to be credited as the creator of the material and the right to be financially rewarded if the material is used by another party. In most cases, the copyright owner needs to give permission for the material to be used, although there are exceptions to this. The concept of fair use in copyright law allows for certain actions with regards to copyrighted material; for example, there is provision for quoting from publicly available material if the source is cited, its use can be justified and only the necessary amount is included.
Information from Government websites may often be covered by Crown Copyright, which generally sets out terms for free use of material. Other websites or blogs may specify a ‘Creative Commons’ licence, which allows copyright owners the option of providing their material for use if specific conditions are met.
Some practical examples of circumstances where intellectual property law may be applied include:
Disclosure / Confidentiality
In UK the law of confidence requires that a duty of confidentiality is established – this could be in the form of a written contract, for example an employment or business contract. The absence of a written document does not necessarily mean a duty of confidentiality does not exist, however.
Public relations practitioners should bear in mind issues around disclosure and confidentiality when posting information about their own company, a client or a competitor. Information can be disseminated very quickly via social media and is virtually impossible to retract once it has been published: even if it has been online for only a short time, it may well have been picked up and cached by computers around the world.
Some practical examples of circumstances where disclosure / confidentiality laws could be applied include:
There may also be specific terms in your contract of employment detailing information that is expected to remain confidential unless otherwise indicated.
If you are posting information relating to your company, a client or a competitor, you should consider whether this information may be sensitive and confirm that it has been cleared for publication. In some cases, this may involve seeking legal advice before taking any action.
Defamation
Defamation is the act of making a statement about a person or company that is considered to harm reputation, for example by lowering others’ estimation of the person or company, or by causing them to lose their rank or professional standing. If the defamatory statement is written down (in print or online) it is known as libel. If it is spoken, it is known as slander. There are exceptions to this - posting a defamatory statement online or recording it on a podcast would both be examples of libel.
Points to note:
Invasion of privacy
The legal concept of privacy in the UK is complex as there is no one privacy law. However, the Human Rights Act incorporates the right to privacy for both individuals and companies. The law of confidence is bound with the right to privacy, and many legal cases centering around the right to a private life focus on breaches of confidentiality.
Some practical examples of situations where privacy may be an issue include:
There have been several well-publicised cases in recent years where employers have taken action or dismissed employees based on their use of social media. A new term has even been coined following one such case: to be ‘dooced’ is to loose your job because of something you wrote in your blog.
There is much debate over the boundaries companies should set for their employees’ use of social media, and there is, as yet, no definitive answer. Organisations will always want to protect their brand against misuse or misrepresentation and also bear a certain amount of legal responsibility for employees’ actions. Being aware of the potential issues as an employer or employee means that steps can be taken to ensure these issues do not materialise.
For employers…
There are circumstances under which employers can be held legally responsible for their employees’ words. Situations that may apply include action taken as part of their role for the company and material published on an official company space or somewhere that has been previously sanctioned by the company. It is therefore important to make all employees aware of the potential legal issues (outlined above) as well as any specific company policy on engaging with social media.
Giving employees clear guidelines on what is and isn’t considered acceptable helps both parties to understand the parameters when dealing with social media from an employment perspective. A social media policy can be incorporated into email and internet policies; it may also be deemed necessary to include provision in staff contracts.
Areas to address in a company social media policy may include:
Once a policy is in place, this needs to be highlighted to employees so that all are aware of its existence and contents. Consideration should be given to what steps will be taken if the policy is disregarded and you should ensure that implementation of the policy is consistent.
For examples of the policies some organisations have put in place, please see the useful links at the end of these guidelines.
If you have an organisational blog, you should bear in mind that posting the opinions of others can mean you assume a certain amount of legal responsibility for the content. You should therefore include a policy on your own blog that outlines how you will treat comments (for example, these may be moderated before publication).
For employees…
People have been dismissed because of their online activities. While such cases may be rare, it is important as an employee to be aware that posting information about your company can not be isolated from your working life. Any information published online can be accessed around the world within seconds and will be publicly available for all to see.
As an employee, you should take the following into consideration when using social media:
‘Astroturfing’
‘Astroturfing’ is the practice of falsely creating the impression of
independent, popular support by means of an orchestrated and disguised public
relations exercise. The underlying idea of faking grassroots support gives rise
to the term, which was coined from the word AstroTurf (artificial grass).
Astroturfing is not a new concept in principle, but social media has provided a host of methods for conducting this type of campaign. For example, in the context of social media, astroturfing techniques could include the creation of a dedicated blog, posting comments on others' blogs or on message boards, submitting supposedly amateur videos to YouTube – all of which would be designed to give the impression of spontaneous support for an idea/product/company/service.
CIPR members should remember that they must adhere to the CIPR Code of Conduct. The principle of Integrity in the Code emphasises that members should act transparently, honestly and with accuracy, and never knowingly mislead. ‘Astroturfing’ campaigns are self-evidently likely to contradict the CIPR Code.
‘Pitching’
With the proliferation of social media, a growing number of companies are
actively engaging with selected websites and incorporating them into their
communications strategies. Pitching to bloggers has become much more common – to
the extent that many now view unsolicited emails from PR practitioners as pure
spam. This doesn’t mean bloggers aren't open to hearing from companies or their
PRs, but it is important to consider areas of best practice before pitching.
Researching the blogs that you intend to pitch to is essential, both in terms of judging the blogger's attitude to receiving information from PR practitioners and also in ensuring that the material you send is relevant to the blog. You should take the time to start reading the blog regularly to familiarise yourself with the blogger's interests and scope; the added benefit of this is that the blogger may also reveal how open he is to receiving pitches and how they prefer to receive these.
As when dealing with mainstream media, you should make sure pitches are for newsworthy items and are targeted carefully. Unlike mainstream media, the risk is not simply that they will be ignored – they may instead be held up as an example of poor public relations practice. Tailoring the pitch to the blog means it stands a better chance of being received positively, instead of being viewed as a form of PR spam.
It is also important to be honest about your role and the nature of the pitch. Failing to disclose this could mean your pitch results in criticism and negative posts about your organisation or client.
‘Ghost writing’
The drafting of material by PR professionals for their clients naturally has a
role to play in many areas of professional endeavour. But where a blog is run
entirely, or almost entirely, without detailed oversight by the ‘face’ of the
blog, then serious questions of integrity arise. Where such ghosting happens,
this should be made clear on the blog, along with other relevant information
(such as potential conflicts of interest), as detailed elsewhere.
‘Off the record’
The concept of 'off the record' does not really apply when dealing with social
media such as blogs. You should understand that your conversations or emails
with a blogger may be considered to be in the public domain and therefore be
posted online without specifically eliciting your permission. Familiarising
yourself with the blogs you are dealing with will give a good indication of the
blogger's stance. If in doubt, you should assume that any information you share
could be made available publicly.
On the other side of the coin, you should think carefully about posting content from private emails without permission to do so. Apart from ethical considerations, there may also be legal restrictions on reproducing a person's email correspondence: the writer of an email may be seen as the copyright owner and many organisations now include a disclaimer at the foot of their emails citing how these are intended to be used.
When blogging you should also avoid treating your private emails as ‘blogs’.
Contributing to wikis
A wiki is a website that is updated and edited by visitors to the site, who
collaborate to create and maintain the information contained there. Probably the
most well-known wiki is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.
When contributing to a wiki on behalf of a client or your organisation, the main issue to be aware of is the policy on such contributions. There has been some controversy about the involvement of public relations practitioners in the creation of wikis which some in social media would prefer to preserve solely for individual contributions.
To date, this issue has yet to be resolved. However, the majority of wikis will provide some form of guidelines for those wishing to contribute - Wikipedia for example has a series of policies on submitting or editing contributions. The site emphasises that entries must be neutral in tone, factual and verifiable. In addition, there are guidelines on adding links which state that adding a link to your own website will be considered spamming. Read the guidelines carefully before submitting or editing an article.
Rules of engagement
There are no hard and fast rules for organisations wishing to use social media,
and the landscape is evolving constantly. However, openness and transparency are
key elements. Organisations and individuals who do not respect this can find
themselves criticised publicly for attempting to utilise these social media
networks without disclosing full commercial intent – and this involvement can
backfire spectacularly. You should abide by the rules and etiquette of the
community in question. There will generally be an area explaining how to use the
website which will include policies and guidelines to help you judge how to
engage with other visitors to the site. If you can’t find this information, make
contact to find out what is and isn't acceptable - either via a named contact or
a discussion forum.
The future
This is an evolving area, with regular new developments and innovations. The
landscape changes constantly and so the issues which seem most pressing today
will most likely be replaced by new ones in the near future. It is therefore
worth bearing in mind that with the emergence of new forms of social media,
there will be new challenges for our profession. With this in mind, this is a
living document which we intend reviewing and updating regularly. Certain
emerging issues, such as ‘Second Life’ and the ‘mashing up’ of particular types
of social media, e.g. blogs and wikis, have not been covered here specifically,
though certain themes here –such as the rules of engagement and the importance
of openness- are as relevant here as anywhere else.
CIPR resources
CIPR policies that may be helpful:
Features on Profile Extra, the CIPR's online PR magazine, that may be relevant:
Legal information in the CIPR Member Area:
Practical guides in the CIPR Member Area:
Useful links
Disclaimer: The links listed below are not controlled by the CIPR. The content of these websites is intended as a helpful starting point in your research; the content is not controlled or endorsed in any way by the CIPR and the websites listed are not under CIPR control.
Examples of company blogging policies
Legislation