Lawyer Stephanie McHugh has had an article published in the Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, titled ‘Who owns your online friendships? Establishing rights over social media connections’.
The article examines the extent to which an employer can own or exercise control over social media accounts and connections created during employment. Social media is becoming increasingly prevalent in our professional careers, and Stephanie's article goes into details surrounding the ownership of social media accounts and their connections.
Stephanie, in the article, said “employers can implement measures to discourage employees from misusing social media connections to the employers’ detriment. However, employers should keep in mind that any proposed measures need to be reasonable in order for them to be enforceable."
The article goes on to look at the emergence of social media policies and their need to be a comprehensive tool in order to "protect legitimate business interests". Stephanie details what employers can do to discourage employees from misusing their social media connections, including different strategies available to them.
Read the full article here.
If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie McHugh.
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