By Mike Davis, Victorian Public Sector Commission 

Tips for practitioners

• Practitioners should advise employer clients to develop a current social media policy, guidelines or values that articulate acceptable employee conduct on social media platforms. 
• Practitioners should advise employer clients to conduct regular training for employees using social media for work on appropriate conduct and privacy settings etc.
• Practitioners should emphasise to employer and employee clients that all activity on social media platforms is immediately made public when published; privacy or restricted access should never be assumed.

Web 2.0 and digital identity

The emergence of "Web 2.0" and the growth of social media platforms have created a new digital space for individual expression. The digital persona now sits alongside the physical and provides a parallel voice for participation in social, political and communal affairs. This transformative paradigm shift has "levelled the playing field" and given voices to many who were previously unheard. Published expression is no longer the sole domain of the wealthy and powerful; nor have they remained gatekeepers to the online world.

Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram allow individual users to express themselves on the condition of self-identification.1 Users can say what they like in these forums; but the consideration is that their identity is displayed, meaning they can be held accountable for the effects of their expression. This aspect of Web 2.0 links provides the necessary link between the individual and the digital persona, building transparency and accountability into digital participation on these platforms.

However, the increasing prevalence of legal cases involving employee's use of social media highlights the inherent tension between personal expression, privacy and employment obligations. There are significant employment consequences that may arise from an employee's online behaviour; even where behaviour falls short of insult and even where the behaviour is intended to be limited in audience to a private social network.

Future developments

Employee's social media use is only set to grow as an increasing share of employees embrace Web 2.0 and emerging social media platforms. Previous and emerging cases should signpost to employers the risks inherent in not having a clearly articulated social media policy.

The onus also lies upon "model" employers to run adequate training and educational programs to make employees aware of what constitutes appropriate social media use. Further education is also needed around privacy law and policy and around identifying "best practice" protocols that organisations can follow in the aftermath of an adverse social media event.

This is especially important considering the growing emphasis that employers place on employees being tech savvy, computer literate and active digital content consumers, producers, promoters and connectors.

 
Note: Extract from Privacy Law Bulletin June 2015, Volume 12 No 6