Social media and

safeguarding Ensuring social media is used appropriately and positively

Iain Luxford Media & Marketing Manager, ESCC

15 January, 2019

What we will cover:

• Social media in East Sussex

• Why we should use it

• The risks for schools

• Facebook Pages v Groups

• Why parents groups are good

• Working with parents’ groups

• The responsibility of the group admin

• Personal abuse – libel

• Protecting children

• Setting expectations and managing criticism

• The law on your side

• 94% of residents use the internet

• 69% use Facebook (42% in 2014)

• 36% use Twitter (13% in 2014)

• 71% use YouTube (31% in 2014)

• 32% use Instagram

• 24% use Snapchat

• 24% use Pinterest

• 20% use LinkedIn

East Sussex - 2017

Why use social media • It’s where your audience is!

• Audience expectations – comms should be for them

• You control content and who can access it

• Your page can be as interactive and open as you wish

• It’s two-way and enhances face to face communication

• In an increasingly competitive world it enhances your visibility and profile

• Builds reputation, confidence, trust in an organisation

• We can use people who are participating as a resource

• It can save time – providing a definitive source of information and reference, preventing phone calls

• It’s cheap – apart from time

• Analytics

• Inappropriate identification of children

• Personal targeting of staff members

• Conflict between individuals

• Inappropriate sharing of confidential info

• Inappropriate use of language

• Spreading of rumours and misinformation

• Negativity, moaning and criticism!

Pages v Groups

• A Facebook Page is like a bulletin board for organizations, businesses, brands and public figures.

• The page owner controls the content and access.

• Those who have "liked" a Page will see its updates in their News Feeds and will be able to add a comment. Facebook

• Pages enable public figures, businesses, and organizations to create an authentic and definitive presence on Facebook.

• Facebook Groups are where people with a common interests can come together and share ideas, ask questions etc.

• Content is generated by all members of the group.

• Groups can be “open” so anyone can join, “closed” so you have to ask to join and be approved by the admin, or “secret” in which you won’t know about it until you are invited to join.

Even amongst seasoned Facebook users, there can be some confusion about the difference between Facebook Pages and Groups.

Pages Groups

Groups…

…parents helping each other

Spreading news…quickly

Working with a parents’ group • Accept – it is happening

• Accept – it will mostly be a positive thing

• Accept – negative is not new, just another channel

• Accept – moaners will always be moaners

• Accept – see it as an opportunity

• ENGAGE – KNOW THE ADMIN!

• Engage - ask to work together

• Engage - school rep in group to answer any questions

• Engage - challenge incorrect information

• Engage - ask for opportunity to clarify

• Engage – take difficult conversations off-line

• Engage - ask admin to be aware of the law and manage content

• Engage - ask admin to be aware of rules re photographs

• Take control - set up an official school page!

• Manage content

• Add or remove page roles

• Approve group membership

• Remove and block people

• Set group expectations and guidelines

• Approve or deny posts

• Delete comments and posts

• Ensure the law is applied

The role of the group admin:

“There is case law to the effect that an administrator

can be held liable for defamatory content and that they

have an obligation to remove content which is

defamatory or discriminatory. The administrator of a

private Facebook group would be well advised to keep

a very close eye on the content published there.”

“Naming and shaming is

particularly risky - it can infringe on

someone’s right to privacy, can

amount to harassment and can

amount to defamation. It has

become a favourite past time on

social media and it is ill advised”

“In law, moderators can be held

liable for any statement that appears to be defamatory

because forum members are

deemed to be 'authors' within

the meaning of the Defamation Act.”

“a published false statement that is

damaging to a person's reputation”

The only real defence?

…and they have to prove it!

Identifying children There is no one law that provides a cover all

ban on any identification of children. However,

their identities are and can be protected with:

• Children in youth court proceedings – automatic ban

• Children involved in other court proceedings – normal for a

ban to be imposed

• Children in Family Court proceedings

• Children subject to any kind of care orders

• Privacy Laws (Human Rights Act)

• Editors’ Code of Conduct

• Acceptable use policy

• Parental consent forms

• Acceptable use policy

• Agree with group admins

• Letter to parents

• “About” section on the page

• Complaints process

Setting expectations…

Managing negativity and criticism…

• Know the difference between abuse and

legitimate disagreement

• Keep a sense of perspective and proportion

• Be pragmatic

• Correct and clarify

The protection of the law…

Defamation Act – libelling someone.

Protection from Harassment Act – threatening or grossly offensive

Communications Act 2003 – making "menacing electronic communication"

Contempt of Court – anything part of a criminal process, identification of

victims, offenders etc

Malicious Communications Act 1988 - making "grossly offensive" comments European Convention on Human Rights, and UK law – protect individual

privacy Cyber bullying, revenge porn, trolling and virtual mobbing are new phrases

in our media vocabulary, but they generally describe behaviour that is already criminal.

Children Act – protection for children involved in any court proceedings Media – editors code of conduct NSPCC advice on photos https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-

resources/briefings/photography-sharing-images-guidance/ CPS advice https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/social-media-guidelines-

prosecuting-cases-involving-communications-sent-social-media

• Set your page up so only you can post content

• Set your page up so you review content before its posted

• Hide comments with just one click

• Remove people from a page

• Ban people with one click

• Easily report posts and people to Facebook

• Make sure the admin of any groups knows their role

• Establish expectations on usage of pages and groups

• You have the law on your side

• Trust the judgement of the majority of reasonable parents

Percentage of large corporate brands and

organisation using social media to engage

with their supporters, fans, customers,

audiences?...

“We don't have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it?”

International motivational speaker and expert on how social media is transforming how we engage and do business with each other