Research conducted by IronMountain revealed that 34% of UK businesses surveyed described their management of social media use in the workplace as ‘unmanaged’ and ‘chaotic.’
76% of businesses regard communications by social media as formal business records but 46% have no idea that they carry legal responsibility for their content through social media channels.
Many businesses who are aware of potential legal issues social media can incur give up completely, with as many as 74% of businesses banning the use of social media at work completely, the research reveals.
"Social media is troubling organisations much as email did a decade or so ago," said Christian Toon, head of information security at Iron Mountain Europe. "It’s new, it generates huge volumes of unstructured data, and that makes it hard to control. The immediacy and informality of social media increase the potential risks of data breaches and information exposure, so it is not surprising that many companies feel threatened."
Banning social media at work for fear of legal repercussions can stifle the wide range of opportunities and connection with others that social media platforms provide.
"Social media also offers a wealth of possibilities in terms of customer engagement and market awareness," said Toon. "No business today can really afford to ignore it. Social media is the tool that a new generation of workers will expect to work with."
There are certain steps Toon suggests to follow in order to better protect businesses, employers, and customers using social media.
- Believe in the basics: it’s all about the content, not the channel
- Understand the law
- Develop a corporate information management policy for social media that includes clear employee guidelines and encourages a culture of responsibility
- Take control where you can
- Stay flexible
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