Total Articles: 7
No Injunction on Ex-Employee’s Blogging Absent Extraordinary Circumstances, New York Court Rules
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects from judicial restraint discussions over matters of public concern, including claims of wide-scale data breaches of social security numbers and other personal information by a former employee on a blog, a New York State Supreme Court justice has ruled. Cambridge Who’s Who Publishing, Inc. v. Sethi, 009175/10, NYLJ 1201482619238, at *1 (Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty. Jan. 25, 2011). Finding no extraordinary circumstance that would overcome the Constitutional protection, the court denied a company’s application for a preliminary injunction prohibiting its former employee from blogging about the company and its products, despite his agreement to maintain the confidentiality of confidential business information.
Employees Blogging.
If it sometimes seems that everyone in the U.S. has a blog, there's a reason for it. Technorati, a website that covers the blogosphere, says it is tracking 112.8 million blogs currently, with 175,000 new blogs coming on line...each day. People blog about politics, entertainment, food and wine, and every intimate detail of their lives. They also blog about their employment – and their employers.
Venting Online: How To Deal With Employee Blogs.
Blogs (electronic internet diaries or postings) are booming. Employees are now using blogs to broadcast information and opinions worldwide. Inevitably, some of those employees will post negative, harassing, hostile, false, or confidential information and opinions about their employers and co-employees.
Blogs: Why They Matter to Employers.
One of the latest trends in electronic communication, “blogs” are fast, easy, inexpensive, and universally accessible. They’re also unregulated, though, and can subject an unwitting employer to liability.
Managing Risks Associated with Employee Blogs (pdf).
A blog, short for “weblog,” is an online journal where
the author can share his or her thoughts and opinions
with the millions of people who surf the Internet each
day. To capitalize on the rapid rise in popularity of
blogs as a form of new media, many of the nation’s
leading companies have begun to publish offi cial
corporate blogs as a means to humanize the company,
reach customers and address critics in a personal and
informal way.
Employee Web Logs Raise Privacy, Confidentiality Issues For Employers (pdf).
Many employers have comprehensive
policies addressing e-mail, Internet
usage, confidentiality, trade secrets,
and solicitation. As the business world
has steadily transitioned into the digital
age, HR departments have kept pace
by crafting and revising these policies
to protect company resources from misuse.
However, an increasingly prevalent
source of risk for employers has
often escaped notice – the proliferation
of employee web logs, or “blogs.”
Don't Get Bogged Down With Workplace Blogs (pdf).
Added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003, “blog” is “a frequently updated Web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary.” A blog is similar to a website, and in some cases blog visitors do not even realize they are visiting a blog rather than a website. A blog usually contains web links to other blogs
and websites, news stories, and items that also appear on websites. The key difference between a blog and a website is that a blog allows the owner to post “diaries” through which visitors can read and interact. Thus, in practice, a blog can be similar to a chat room or message board, but focused on specific topics of the blog owner’s choosing.
