Add social networking sites to internet use policy, charities urged
Howard Lake | 7 December 2006 | News
Voluntary sector legal and governance trainer Sandy Adirondack has urged charities to consider drawing up a policy on staff and volunteers’ access while at work to social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Bebo.com.
In her latest legal update by email she suggests charity sector employers ensure that they cover not just blogging but also social networking sites in their Internet Use Policies.
In particular she points out that use of such sites by staff can pose security risks. Malicious code can be concealed within files such as videos or sound shared by users on these sites.
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While frequently updated anti-spyware and anti-virus programmes will probably protect charities and organisations, staff still need to be educated and advised on whether the charity will permit them to use such sites in work time.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.