To Tweet or Not To Tweet: That Is the Question

 
 
     Under Zuckerberg’s Law, the amount of content being posted on Facebook doubles every year.  This flood of incoming content has inevitably led us to ask “who owns what?”  Twitter is at the center of this social media thunderstorm. Companies are becoming concerned about Tweeting on the job, and may prohibit Tweeting, or may request disclosure of Tweets about work. They have not been completely successful in preventing employee Tweets.   To make matters more complicated,  some companies encourage employees to use corporate Twitter accounts, like HomeDepot and Best Buy.

      Therefore,  whether Tweets are happening behind office doors,  or are an encouraged part of the job description, employees are Tweeting.   They are Tweeting for themselves and for corporate America. The consequence is inevitable-a  tug of war between the corporate desire to protect its proprietary interests and employees’ rights to own their Tweets and followers.
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      But, we may have to take a step back and reframe the question.  As one attorney so aptly explains, no one actually has the right to “own” Twitter followers.  (Gabe 2009).  Followers are people and people cannot be owned.  A better and more salient question is: (1) who owns the right to access and maintain the list of Twitter followers; and (2) who owns the content of the Tweets.  (Gabe 2009).  Although the courts are just beginning to address the subject, it may take years to come up with a workable solution.  Twitter rights may rise or fall according to the following brainteasers:

1.     Did the employee have the Twitter account before the date of hire?

2.     Were the Tweets during work hours?

3.     Did the employee use the Twitter account to Tweet about work or personal matters?

4.     Is the employee required to disclose the corporate Twitter account user name and password, and if not, are the employee’s Tweets about work open to review by the company?

5.     Did the employee read and acknowledge acceptance of a corporate Twitter policy?

6.     Does the corporate Twitter policy discuss in detail what happens to the employee’s user name and password, list of Twitter followers and Tweets if employment is severed?

7.     Was there a corporate Twitter policy in place and did the employee review it and sign it prior to using the Twitter account?

We do not know what kind of Twitter standard will ultimately be established by the courts.  In the meantime,  detailed Twitter policies (along with other social media use policies) can educate employees on company expectations and the rules of engagement.  (Solis 2011, 136-137). Likewise, employees may want to think about what they are Tweeting, when they are Tweeting and ask their employer if it has a Twitter policy.

References

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Gabe, Glenn.  2012.  “Lawyers, Guns and Twitter-Who Owns Your Twitter Account.” Search Engine Journal. Available at http://www.searchenginejournal.com/lawyers-guns-and-twitter-who-owns-your-twitter-account/10612/ (accessed May 29, 2012).

Solis, Brian.  Engage. 2011.  Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.