The murky legal aspects of company social media accounts

Your online guru moves on to another organization. Does he or she walk off with your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds, or does your business retain control? Here how you should proceed.

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When your Twitter expert flies the coop, who owns that corporate account?

It is becoming increasingly common for issues to arise relating to employer vs. employee ownership of a social media account and the names, addresses, etc. that go along with it.

Business-related social media accounts typically contain useful information developed over the course of employment that can give a departing employee a competitive advantage over a former employer. Although there has been a lot of litigation about these issues, there are relatively few reported decisions.

One such decision can be found in CDM Media USA Inc. v. Simms, in which the court does not resolve issues relating to social media ownership but does highlight important steps a company can take to safeguard its information. The opinion is a response to a motion to dismiss filed by the defendant.

Background of the case

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