Wired.com posted an article pointing to a new set of guidelines from the AP regarding a corporate policy about staff posting to twitter and Facebook.
The Associated Press is adopting a stringent social-networking policy for its employees, informing them to police their Facebook profiles “to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards.”
The policy (.pdf) comes weeks after an AP reporter was reprimanded for posting a comment to his own Facebook profile criticizing the Sacramento-based newspaper chain McClatchy, whose stock has become nearly worthless after a string of costly acquisitions.
I’m not sure what to think about this one. I think it’s a bit of a concern when an organization that wraps itself in the first amendment tells their staff that they are not allowed to have first amendment rights themselves (as Tony Winton points out in the article).
On the other hand, I believe it is important for employees of large corporations to understand that even in their off time, they are representing these firms, and their written word–whether on facebook or twitter–carries weight for that organization.
Working for another large firm, I know it would be improper to post inappropriate or embarrassing information online that could hurt my firm, and I certainly wouldn’t do so knowingly. The only part that is tricky, is that with these guidelines, it makes AP staff responsible for their “friend’s” postings, even if done so without the knowledge of the staffer.
How can that even be enforced?
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