Social Media And Defamation

The increasing use of social media platforms to advertise or market businesses gives rise to some unique considerations for companies engaged in this activity. One issue to consider is liability for defamation. Defamatory statements are those made about an individual or business that would tend to lower that party's reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person, refer specifically to that party and are published or communicated to at least one other party. In using social media, companies should be sure to avoid (1) the posting of comments that might be considered defamatory, and (2) being considered a "publisher" of defamatory content by allowing users of a website, Facebook page, blog site or other site that posts comments, to post defamatory content. To avoid these pitfalls, businesses should: (1) have internal policies that govern their employees' use of social media on their behalf, (2) have terms and conditions that govern the use of their websites or blog sites