ABSTRACT
Government agencies, businesses, and other organizations should consider adding instructions on Internet posting to their authorized use policy, employee handbook, confidentiality agreements, and disciplinary procedures. Employees, contractors, and other authorized users can post to the Internet from work and from home, and items online can be destructive to the enterprise if they are untrue, unauthorized, or illicit. Anonymous slander of businesses and agencies is relatively common online, posing challenges, including identification of the perpetrator and a response to contain the potential damage. The following is a succinct statement of a model posting policy1:
The Internet is important to us as individuals and to our enterprise because so many people communicate and rely on information they find online. False, inaccurate, slanderous, or illicit postings can be damaging to the enterprise, our suppliers, partners, and our customers. We depend on our communications, marketing, and human resources departments to post enterprise messages online, including on our website and on other websites. Because of the risk of mixed messages, miscommunication, and unlawful and damaging data online, all employees and contractors are required to adhere to the following:
◾ Enterprise e-mail addresses and official titles are not to be used in Internet postings or communications except as part of approved business functions.
