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Christopher Bond
christopher.bond@lg-legal.com
T +44 20 7759 6963

Michael Reilly
michael.reilly@lg-legal.com
T +44 20 7759 6882


09 Feb 2011

Whos the twit?

The recent ruling by the Press Complaints Commission in the case brought by Sarah "Baskers" Baskerville against the Daily Mail and the Independent on Sunday is a timely reminder to all (as if there needed to be one) that Twitter is a public forum for which there is no right to privacy.

The PCC rejected Ms Baskerville's complaint that articles published in November 2010 under the headlines "Oh please, stop this twit from tweeting, someone" (Daily Mail) and "The hounding of the Baskervilles" (Independent on Sunday) intruded her privacy, were misleading and in breach of the Editor's Code of Practice. Though Ms Baskerville was apparently distressed by the press coverage we should perhaps spare a thought for her employer, the Department of Transport. Ms Baskerville's tweets included reference to her work as a civil servant, describing the leader of a (work-related) course as "mental"; saying she was "struggling with a wine induced hangover" at work; and how she was "feeling rather tired - would much prefer to go home".

Ms Baskerville's Twitter account and her blog (neither of which were anonymous) both included disclaimers that her views expressed were personal opinions and were not representative of her employer. However, her tweets were picked up and repeated in the press at the time of the original articles and are currently being widely reported again as a result of the PCC's ruling.

Undoubtedly the nature of the tweets makes Ms Baskerville herself look rather silly but her employer's reputation is also inevitably damaged in the process. Ms Baskerville's comments do not sit easily with the core values of the Civil Service- integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality - and may well be a breach of the Civil Service Code. No doubt Ms Baskerville has already faced tough questions at work about the public statements she has made on Twitter and may even be facing disciplinary proceedings already. At a time when every Government department is facing severe cutbacks, Ms Baskerville may find she hasn't got a job to complain about for much longer.

But the case is a timely warning to all employers to ensure that they have clear policies on the use of social media and that they have taken steps to contain the business and reputational damage which abuse of social media can entail.

Helga Breen
Partner, Employment
Helga Breen
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