Sunday

The dangers of blogging. Some tips for safe blogging.


Another controversy started in Belgium regarding blogging. Nathalie is a young Belgian girl and works as a bartender in NewYork. She blogged about a bar visit from our Belgian minister of Defense, who according to her, did not behave as a man of his statue should. (original post on nathalielubbebakker.com).

Newspapers picked up her story and it became a big discussion. The minister refuted the whole story and what followed was that apparently someone from the Office of the Minister phoned the employer of Nathalie. The next day, she was fired. Did Nathalie as a bartender cross a line blogging about a customer? Did the office of the Minister cross a line when making that phonecall? I'm leaving that discussion aside for now. It's hard to prove some of the statements in this story.

The next point is more intriguing. When our minister had to explain himself before parliament, he said that , and I quote:

I want to take this opportunity and use this non-event to signal a dangerous phenomenon in our society. We live in a time where everybody is free to publish whatever he or she wants on blogs at will without taking any responsibility. This exceeds mud-slinging. Together with you, other Parliament members and the government I find that it’s nearly impossible to defend yourself against this. Everyone of you is a potential victim. I would like to ask you to take a moment and think about this. (Source: Entrecard.com)
This got the blogger community in an uproar!!! What does the community think about this? Just have a look at a small sample of responses:
I think that the following quote from TechCrunch gives us some food for thought:
Society should be aware that the world is changing, and blogging is now a big part of it, with all of its good sides as well as its bad ones. Live and learn. The sooner you get the hang of social media, the more you’ll see the opportunities in there rather than the threats.
But since some people and especially the law does not always catch up, be careful what and who you blog about. Everyone is expected to know the law. A weblog is not a place where you can say or do ANYTHING you want under current law. Bloggers also have to respect copyright and laws about defamation or privacy.

This is not legal advice, I'm not a lawyer but the following tips might help you avoid troubles.

  1. Don't take complete articles from other websites/blogs. It's easy and fast blogging to copy&paste, but it's a violation against copyright.
  2. Don't use random pictures as decoration. To use pictures to decorate your site or weblog might seem a good idea, but most of them are copyrighted. There are several ways to find royalty free images. Just look at this previous blogpost for some picture resources.
  3. Mark what you copy as a citation and mention the source. Often copyright law allows you to take a short piece of text from another source. But you must mention clearly state the source of the text. Use the "blockquote"-tag or the “quote” button in your editor.
  4. The right for citation only allows you the necessary to make your point. Don't use more then 1 or 2 of paragraphs and only if you cannot do with less.
  5. Shocking people is allowed, but you cannot insult or slander people. Free speech is allowed and gives you the right to spread ideas & ways of thinking that shock, hurt or disturb. But there are limits to this right, in the form of insult, slander and libel.
  6. Exaggerate a bit but do take facts into account. Look at a blog as a column. Columnists can go a long way, they can exaggerate and make up stories about people. But it must be made clear that it's exaggeration, sarcasms or similar type of speech instead of a serious or official article. The article must be based on some facts, there must be some bare minimum of truth in them.
  7. Read your comments and take action if they go too far. As blogger, you are responsible for the comments posted on your blog (as reaction to an article). You don't have to screen every comment before they are allowed on your blog , although that can be useful to block spam. But you must review all the comments made and take action if they go too far. It's best to mention it when you do it and why.
  8. React to complaints from third parties on a blogpost or comment. If someone has a clear complaint and you don't respond to it, it can be used in a court of law (if it ever comes to that). Always respond and see how you can come to an agreement. You don't always have to comply with their request, but you can include their response on your blog as an addition or update.
  9. Be careful about blogging during working hours. The use of IT facilities from work for private activities can be a reason for being fired. Although your employer cannot monitor your every move at work, he could encounter a blogpost and confront you with it.
  10. If you blog about the same industry that you work in, get a blogging policy from your employer or do it anonymously. If you blog under your real name, you might rub people the wrong way. Even if your intentions are not bad, having your own opinion might clash with the view of your company or your manager sooner or later. Have a look at an example guideline you can provide yourself. Always state that it's your personal blog and that it's your personal opinion.
I hope these points will give you something to reflect on. Here are some other resources to help you find more (legal) information about blogging:
There isn't something similar for Belgian bloggers (based on Belgian law) unfortunately. The closest thing is the extended article on U Blogt Toch Ook? from Edwin Jacobs and Wim Schreurs.

I have been thinking about starting a NING community around Blogging & Belgian law to fill this gap with the help of some lawyer friends. But for now, have a look at the resources above.

If you ever get into trouble, please contact an attorney for real advice.

(Cartoon under creative commons from Geek&Poke Photostream)

Posted by Security4all at 30.11.08

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