YES…You can be sued over a Facebook post!

By: Joel McKinnon

YES…You can be sued over a Facebook post! Lets face it, Social Media has become a large part of everyones life.  We use it to communicate with family, friends, co-workers, and even connect with people we have not seen since high school.  School districts use social media to inform parents when classes are cancelled due to bad weather, businesses use it as their preferred marketing platform, and as consumers we turn to social to read business reviews, and even ask our friends their opinion before we buy a product.  News stations such as NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and others use social to keep us up to date on the latest developments in news stories.  There are endless benefits to social media as individuals, consumers, and also as business owners.  I would go as far as to say it has the changed the world in countless beneficial ways.

Aside from all of the benefits of social media, there are also some risks, and downfalls if not used properly.  One of the biggest downfalls that has come from social media is an increase in ‘libel and slander lawsuits.’  For the majority of social media users, Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites are a place to share pictures of our kids, share inspiring  stories about things we have over come, and a place to generally interact with friends and family we would not otherwise see regularly.  This being said, social media has also become a place where people “air out their dirty laundry.” People make their divorce public, they bash companies who do not meet their demands, and yes, we even throw our friends under the bus who let us down.

All of this has led to an increase in the number of liable and slander lawsuits, and has us asking you this question – “does your current homeowners insurance policy cover you, if you are sued for libel and slander (personal injury).”  If you make a comment that is negative towards another person you could be sued, and with social media it is hard to deny that you did it.  Posts are date and time stamped, and in most cases your picture is right beside the post.

For a better understanding and for additional information on this topic here are a few other blog posts for you to review.  Also if you would like additional information feel free to give Joel a call 330-339-3431.

http://wainassoc.com/2011/02/13/can-facebook-and-twitter-hurt-your-pocket-book/#comments

http://www.rmmagazine.com/2012/10/08/like-it-or-not-how-social-media-can-lead-to-litigation/