Take caution before posting.
It's a warning heard more and more often as the world continues to connect through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to name a few. But while some unwritten social media rules seem common sense (like not posting public pictures of illegal activity or badmouthing your boss on a public Twitter or Facebook page), some dangers are rarely thought about or discussed.
The Missouri Bar held spring committee meetings at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City late last week with one committee devoted to social media and legal ethics. While much of what was said was specifically meant for practicing attorneys, there were some lessons any social media user could stand to learn before their next post.
Peggy Landwehr, project manager for eDiscovery and Legal Technology for the Missouri Attorney General, said attorneys can use any public portion of people's social media pages during a trial. If that makes you want to start cleaning your page (you know, just in case), make sure you don't wait until you need an attorney to start.
One cautionary tale told during the committee meeting detailed one attorney, Matthew Murray, who was suspended from practicing law after advising a client to clean up his Facebook page. Landwehr said once a client consults an attorney, it's too late to clean up your social media presence because each post is equivalent to a document and when you try to delete it, you're essentially shredding evidence.
"Your computer hard drive is kind of like a filing cabinet," Landwehr said.
Another aspect of online life you should be aware of is the growing amount of litigation coming from bad reviews on sites like Yelp.com or Amazon.com. There have been several instances in the last couple years where businesses have sued those writing bad reviews, claiming libel, slander or defamation.
In a Virginia case, a general contractor sued a homeowner for her bad Yelp.com review of his business, where she claimed his employees damaged her home and stole her jewelry, according to the National Journal. The reviewer, Jane Perez, was sued for defamation by the contractor, Christopher Dietz, who sought $750,000 in damages. Although no money was awarded to Perez, her reviews were found to be defamatory. It was only because of Dietz's own responses to her reviews that damages were not awarded.
The Wall Street Journal also has reported instances of companies putting non-disparagement clauses within contracts to prevent customers from writing a bad review of services or products, meaning if you sign a contract without reading each line and try to post a review when you are unsatisfied with the service, you could wind up in court.
The overall lesson for everyone on social media is pretty simple - think before you post.
A good rule of thumb, Landwehr said, is to never put something in an email or post something on social media that you would be embarrassed to see on the front page of the newspaper.
And as many public officials likely can attest to, that's a good rule for anyone to live by.