A LinkedIn profile has a list of business contacts, which can include a wide variety of connections – including customers, personal friends, previous workmates and school friends. A key question that is now often asked, is, who owns the list of business contacts?
LinkedIn users have a single LinkedIn profile, which they generally use for both personal and professional purposes and which they update as they move roles and employers. A recent social media study found 46% of employees use LinkedIn for both business and personal purposes. Often employees are using their contacts and ability to generate connections to enhance not only themselves, but also the company for which they are employed. Hence, employers can potentially have a strong vested interest in a successfully built and established LinkedIn account. However, businesses need to be able to protect the information held on LinkedIn [or other social media sites] to avoid employees using it inappropriately outside work or after their employment ends.
Information held on an internal business database, or a business mobile phone, usually belongs to the employer. However, the legal opinion with regards to who owns a network of contacts on LinkedIn is still not clear. A large part of the information on a LinkedIn account is uniquely the employees’, but an employer can limit the use of that LinkedIn account information in a post-employment scenario by incorporating a non-compete agreement that includes social media considerations.
Employers should also address the potential difficulties over ownership and management of contacts on all social media sites by specific provisions in employment contracts and an up to date social media policy. It is recommended that employment contracts should specify that the employer regards contacts established during employment on sites such as LinkedIn as being part of its business connections and thus confidential information which the employer owns.
The key to avoiding litigation after an employee leaves a job is training and communication while they’re on the job.