Member Article

Law firm warning of social media dangers

A Carlisle law firm is warning businesses of the dangers of using social media and how to avoid the legal pitfalls.

As part of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce’s Business to Business events, Baines Wilson LLP are stressing the importance of posting and ‘tweeting’ safely from an employment and commercial law perspective.

By implementing an effective social media policy and guidelines as to the use of social media, employers can take practical steps to protect their business – especially as many employers do not realise the effects that their employees social media use can have on the business.

John Wilson, commercial law partner at Baines Wilson LLP said: “Whenever any business uses social media, whether on their own website or via an external site such as Twitter, they are publishing information to the work at large.

“There are a number of laws that businesses must conform to including those relating to privacy, defamation, intellectual property and potentially e-commerce.”

Baines Wilson LLP presented this information at a presentation at Energus in Workington and at Carlisle Racecourse.

Catheryn Dunstan, events development manager at Cumbria Chamber of Commerce said: “It has been extremely valuable to have the team setting out the risks, as well as the opportunities associated with the use of social media.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .