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: The Trade Secrets Vault

Web 2.0 Can Be a Pandora's Box of Liability

By David W. Garland and Kristina R. Haymes Internet Law & Strategy n recent years, millions of employees have joined the world of Web 2.0, which includes social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, blogs, wikis, podcasts, video sharing sites and RSS feeds. Today, technology allows virtually anyone to easily post a message, picture, audio and/or video to his or her networking page, blog or other Web site. In this constantly changing new world, where individuals have the ability to disseminate information about their employers to a potentially worldwide Internet audience, employers need to evaluate their existing technology policies and, where necessary, implement new policies and strategies. ... Of course, content matters, and before any action is taken, the content must be evaluated. Disclosing a company's trade secrets on the Internet is far different from exposing allegedly financial wrongdoing by management in the selling of mortgage-backed securities. The former would constitute a breach of an employee's duty of loyalty, misappropriation of trade secrets and potentially a breach of any contractual confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements, all justifiable grounds for the employee's termination.

Full post as published by The Trade Secrets Vault on April 19, 2008 (boomark / email).