Tweets may cause grief

Listen to this article

Social media law may be the new kid on the block, but it’s growing up fast and it’s something attorneys should not ignore.

That’s according to Philip Frankel, an attorney with Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC’s Syracuse office, who will present a videoconference seminar next month, “Are You Tweeting Towards Liability? Legal Considerations For Social Media.”

Social media’s rapid growth is a concern, Frankel said. Though even the most confirmed Luddite must have at least a passing acquaintance with mega-sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, it is difficult to keep up with the must-know new sites. Social media is growing and developing so rapidly that legal decisions over its use or misuse have a difficult time keeping pace.

“It’s hard to fit old methods to this new media,” Frankel said. “The question is, where will the courts go on these issues?”

While social media can present specific legal problems, an overriding problem is that the phenomenon causes a kind of generational split.

Frankel’s practice is focused on intellectual property law and he has experience in technology licensing and issues involving the Internet, social media and domain name disputes.

Frankel said his older colleagues often are dismissive of the technology when they should understand it, and even embrace it if possible.

“Some of the people who are more established in the field will tell me, ‘Of course, I don’t have a Facebook page, I’m over 50,’” he said. “But it’s more and more in the news. And they’ll see a YouTube video on CNN and they’ll say, ‘OK. Show me how to access that.’”

Frankel said YouTube became the weapon of choice for Dave Carroll, a fairly obscure Canadian country musician whose $3,500 guitar was smashed by United Airlines baggage handlers. When the airline refused to reimburse him, he posted a video on the site called “United Breaks Guitar.”

United’s initial tepid response to Carrol’s request for payment gave him a star status in the Internet firmament — 8 million hits as of March 2010 — and United was forced to make humiliating gestures to the now-famous singer. He has become an in-demand speaker on customer service. United, on the other hand, has requested permission to use the video as a training tool on how not to handle luggage.

Another instance of the social media-related liability might be an employee’s sharing trade secrets or venting his frustrations via Twitter or a Facebook page.

“To the employee, it’s just mindless chatter,” Frankel said. “But they may be inadvertently giving away proprietary information.”

Advertising and marketing agencies are now developing social media plans for their clients and their own companies, Frankel said. Having a social media person onboard is now a business requirement.

Frankel said Domino’s Pizza found itself in a quandary not long ago when two renegade employees — as reported by The New York Times — posted a YouTube video in which one of them “prepared sandwiches for delivery while putting cheese up his nose, nasal mucus on the sandwiches, and violating other health-code standards while a fellow employee provided narration.”

The video quickly received more than a million hits and the employees were fired and slapped with felony charges. One apologized and claimed the video was a fake. Still, Domino’s faced a public relations nightmare and the normal means to deal with it were beyond their scope.

Domino’s officials had hoped the controversy would die down. but eventually they were advised to strike back with their own social media campaign. Domino’s President Patrick Doyle responded in a YouTube video, assuring customers it was an isolated incident. The company also set up a Twitter account to answer customers’ questions. It was too late, however, especially given the viral world of social media: Sales dropped quickly and the chain’s reputation for quality took a hit.

“Social media is part of our personal and business lives,” Frankel said. “Now it’s time to recognize the legal issues and advise our clients on how to protect themselves.”

YouTube actually agreed to remove the Domino’s employee video, but many social media sites are not yet responsible for their posts. Frankel said that may represent one of the largest legal battles of the 21st century.

Monitoring hundreds of thousands of posts seems like a Herculean task. As Frankel said, “Facebook and Twitter and YouTube are going to lobby very hard against this. They are going to have a large amount to say.”

IF YOU GO

• “Are You Tweeting Towards Liability? Legal Considerations For Social Media” videoconference
• 8:30 a.m., June 9
• Presentation Source Video Center, 1160A Pittsford Victor Road, Pittsford