This week you will learn about Social Media and the liabilities and risks from a legal perspective. Social media is defined as electronic communication (including the Internet or network systems) where participants communicate and share ideas, information, personal messages and other content (i.e., music or videos).

Social media's prevalence in today's digital landscape has created an intricate relationship between personal expression and professional responsibilities that raises legal implications, especially within a workplace context. This discussion examines the liabilities and risks associated with social media usage from a legal perspective, specifically looking at an employee named Jamal who utilized his work computer for unlawful social media usage against company policy.

In the scenario outlined, Jamal's use of his work computer to access and interact with social media content could expose him to liabilities due to breaching company policy. According to the HR handbook, employees are prohibited from utilizing company computers for social media usage during work hours. His disregarding this rule and engaging in such activity during office hours could constitute breaching his contractual obligations as an employee. Jamal's use of his work computer for personal social media activity could pose data security and privacy risks to the company (Yingjie et al., 2020). Should his actions lead to any breach or compromise of sensitive company data, Jamal could be held liable for any resulting damages, especially if evidence can show his contributions directly contributed to its breach.

Employers, too, face potential liabilities. If the employer failed to enforce or monitor employees' computer activity consistently, this could impede Jamal's disciplinary measures and lead to claims of unfair treatment or selective application of company policies that would threaten to undermine one`s position as an employer. Employer social media policies that are unclear or not properly communicated could hinder employees' efforts to hold Jamal accountable for his actions (Lee et al., 2019). A carefully drafted and communicated social media policy can be essential in setting expectations for employee behavior and potential penalties when policy violations occur.

Conclusion

Jamal and his employer could face legal implications in this scenario, with Jamal's violation of company social media policy and potential data security risks leading to liabilities for him. In contrast, the employer`s enforcement and communication of such policies could limit their ability to take appropriate actions. For the best of both parties, it is necessary to accurately assess the legal risks and liabilities. It would be prudent to consult a qualified legal professional with experience in employment law and data security for advice.

A common example is an employer restricting the use of social media both with the content shared by employees and access to social media through work computers.

Jamal works from home almost every day and decides to log into his social media platform on his work computer. He comments and likes some posts and pictures while logged in. The HR handbook states that employees are not allowed to use company computers for social media use. Are there any liabilities to Jamal or the employer from his actions? Why or why not?