ComputerWorld has a very good article on the legal issues and potential liabilities facing companies whose employees blog, whether those employees do so officially or not.
The article discusses topics that include libel, disclosure of trade secrets and confidential information, careless statements that can be used during litigation, the risks of loose-cannon bloggers, and advocates corporate policies on blogging:
An employer should create policies and guidelines about what can be included on an employer-sponsored weblog. Those guidelines should describe and define the scope of the blog. They should also point out issues that shouldn’t be discussed and materials, including company documents, that shouldn’t be posted to the blog without prior authorization. An employer can also have policies or confidentiality agreements for employees who blog on their own.
A hard-hitting focus on an overall issue that will become so important to organizations as corporate blogging takes off, as I have been saying for some time (here and here, for example).
ComputerWorld | Watch Your Weblog
(Via CorporateBloggingInfo)
Legal implications of employee blogging
An article in the tech trade publication ComputerWorld looks at the legal liabilities of employee blogging. The article lists a litany of problems that could arise, including libel, inappropriate disclosures,