This Social Media Policy artfully balances the delicate nature of Corporate protection and employee personal expression via social media mediums.

1. Draft Social Media Policy
By: Alexis Hart McDowell, Esq.
As leaders in XYZ profession, and in particular its constant evolution with the times, the ABC Company
embraces social media not only to further our mission, purpose and values, but also as a way to connect
with our members, the professional community and the public at large, as well as to foster a constructive
community for these constituents to connect with each other.
Policy Statement
Social media may be used by ABC Company employees and XXX for business-related purposes subject to
the restrictions set forth in this policy. These restrictions are intended to ensure compliance with legal
and regulatory restrictions and privacy and confidentiality agreements. This policy covers all currently
available social media platforms and all emerging and as-yet-undiscovered social media technologies.
Social media technologies include but are not limited to:
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- Blogs - Forums and discussion boards
- Microblogs (Twitter) - Online encyclopedias (Wikipedia)
- Video and photo sharing sites (YouTube, - podcasts
Flickr) - Wikis
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- Social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, - Virtual worlds
Foursquare)
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Purpose
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The purpose of this policy is to provide ABC Company employees with requirements for participation in
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social media, including ABC-hosted social media, and in non-ABC social media in which the employee’s
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ABC affiliation is known, identified, or presumed.
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Scope/Coverage
This policy applies to ABC Company employees, contractors, volunteers or members who facilitate the
use of social media technologies on behalf of ABC Company. It also applies to an employee’s personal
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use of social media, when the employee’s or contractor’s affiliation with ABC Company is identified,
known, or presumed. It does not apply to content that is unrelated to the ABC Company. [Note: there
are only 4 areas in the this policy where it is applicable to personal use - #2, #4, #7, #8 and should
already be addressed in another ABC Company policy, this just makes it applicable to the social media
medium.]
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Policy Provisions
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1. Adherence to ABC Company Policies – Employees must adhere to all ABC Company policies
when using or participating in social media. All the rules that apply to other ABC Company
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communications apply in social media communications. ABC Company policies that may govern,
include but are not limited to the following:
 Privacy Policy [Note: hyperlink to all
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 ABC Company Business Conduct
policies] Standards
 Confidential Information Policy  ABC Company Information Security
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 Competitive Intelligence Policy Policy
 Employee Handbook  Anti-Harassment Policy
 ABC Company Policies and Procedures  Anti-Discrimination Policy
Handbook  Anti-Retaliation Policy
Created By:
Alexis Hart McDowell, Esq.
www.alexishartesq.com
Policy last updated XXXX.
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2. Draft Social Media Policy
2. Speaking on behalf of ABC Company – Quote applicable policy language. Employees,
contractors, and XXX must not say or suggest that the views and opinions they express related to
ABC Company represent the official views of ABC Company.
3. Providing Legal Advice - Quote applicable policy language.
4. Use of ABC Company Intellectual Property (Logo, XXX) - Quote applicable policy
language.
5. Compliance with applicable state and federal laws – Employees may not post content or
conduct any activity that fails to conform to any and all applicable state and federal laws on ABC-
hosted sites. For ABC’s and our employees’ protection, it is critical that everyone abide by the
copyright laws by ensuring that they have permission to use or reproduce any copyrighted text,
photos, graphics, video or other material owned by others. Speak to [insert contact] for guidance.
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6. Endorsements - Quote applicable policy language.
7. Proprietary Information - Employees may not disclose any confidential or proprietary information
of or about ABC, its affiliates, vendors, or suppliers, including but not limited to business and financial
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information, represent that they are communicating the views of ABC, or do anything that might
reasonably create the impression that they are communicating on behalf of or as a representative of
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ABC. [Note: may be redundant and/or inconsistent with #2 above and/or Confidential Information
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policy]
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8. ABC Employee & Member Privacy - Employees may not use or disclose any identifiable
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information of any kind pertaining to any employee or member on any social media platform without
the express written permission of the employee or member. Even if an individual is not identified by
name within the information you wish to use or disclose, if there is a reasonable basis to believe that
the person could still be identified from that information, then its use or disclosure could constitute a
violation of [XXX Law/Regulation] and ABC Company policy. [Note: Is there an ABC Company Policy
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on this?]
9. Obtain pre-approval before setting up ABC-hosted sites - Employees must seek approval from
their supervisor before setting up an ABC-hosted blog or other social media site. Additionally, ABC-
hosted social media sites must focus on subjects related to the organization. [Note: for tracking,
monitoring and legal exposure purposes, we should know which social media sites are approved.]
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10. Identify Yourself – All facilitators of ABC-hosted social media sites must identify themselves by
including their name and title in all social interactions, including in the information section of official
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social profiles.
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11. Be Respectful. Employees may not post any material that is obscene, defamatory, profane, libelous,
threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, or embarrassing to another person or entity when posting to
ABC-hosted sites.
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12. Removal of Content & Sites – ABC Company reserves the right to require that certain subjects be
avoided, certain posts be withdrawn, and inappropriate or questionable content be removed from
ABC-hosted sites. ABC Company may also take down any site it feels is not adhering to or furthering
its mission, purpose or values, including those sites that are inactive.
Created By:
Alexis Hart McDowell, Esq.
www.alexishartesq.com
Policy last updated XXXX.
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3. Draft Social Media Policy
13. Refer Press inquiries to ABC PR – All inquiries for official ABC comment, positions or XXX must be
forwarded to [insert contact].
14. Reporting of Policy Violations – Employees who find out are encouraged to report violations of
this policy to [the Social Media Governance Team] at [insert contact].
Closing
Failure to comply with the Social Media Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including
termination. Due to the frequent advancement of new social media platforms, this policy may be updated
frequently. The [Social Media Governance team] is responsible for updating this policy and can be
contacted at [insert contact] with questions, comments or concerns.
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Created By:
Alexis Hart McDowell, Esq.
www.alexishartesq.com
Policy last updated XXXX.
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