Business Litigation And Social Media

With the prevalence and popularity of social media it comes as no surprise that most businesses use it in some way.  In fact, with more and more traffic to brick and mortar businesses coming from a customer who found out about them online, it’s difficult to compete as a business without using it. Unfortunately, just because a business has a Facebook or Yelp account doesn’t mean that they know how to properly represent themselves online. If the social media manager of a business doesn’t understand the scope of their audience they can fail to act with the proper level of decorum and professionalism ultimately leading to a damaged or even ruined reputation.

Now, in general, the damage that is done can be reversed and the worst it can do is hurt their reputation. Recently however, mega-company Yelp itself made a social media faux-pa that actually led to litigation. Specifically, Yelp made an inappropriate tweet about fired employees and that has raised significant concern about employee privacy.

Boundaries

There are boundaries, and social media is not exempt from this when it comes to a business and its customers. Those boundaries have to be maintained and in Yelp’s case, the limitations also involve their employees. You have to look into this as a business and make sure nothing untoward is said.

Decorum Is Important

This is one of the main things that is not being understood, and that is unfortunate. If a business does not behave well online, they are asking for trouble, and it will come back to bite them. The business has to be the smarter entity in the battle online.

If something negative is being said, it is best to brush it off because businesses are often the targets of severe fines.

All business lawyers talk about this to make sure their clients understand what can happen through social media.

Legally Viable

It’s widely misunderstood that litigation can be pursued over something said online exactly the same way it can be pursued if it were said in person. Somehow the online world still feels like the wild west where anything goes. Not only is this no longer the case, but the official comments a business makes online often need to be more carefully considered because of a much larger audience and because once something is spelled out, there is no longer any way for someone to say, “that’s not actually what I said” or “you mis-heard me” The victim’s case would still be just as strong, and they would have actual proof regarding the posts/tweets made.

It is best to steer clear of these matters and some businesses such as Yelp are learning it the hard way. Business litigation has taken a new turn, and that is what makes it exciting. There are cases coming out of nowhere and it is interesting to see how people react.

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