The Charity Commission Issues Guidance Around Social Media Use

Following a consultation period earlier this year, the Charity Commission has issued revised guidance around the use of social media by charities.

The guidance applies to England and Wales only.

Benefits and risks of using social media

The Commission acknowledges that there are many benefits to charities using social media, such as enabling them to raise awareness on a larger scale and to better engage with beneficiaries. However, the Commission has also highlighted a number of risks that it can bring, such as the risk of posting content that could damage the charity’s reputation or activities.

Charities are entitled to campaign online in support of their objectives and beneficiaries, and shouldn’t be afraid to engage in activity in sensitive areas such as immigration, even though it risks triggering controversy.

However, the Commission has cautioned that charities should avoid supporting or opposing a particular political party. This follows the recent controversy which arose around the RSPB after it posted a controversial tweet.

Social media policies

To ensure the right balance is achieved, charities should put in place a social media policy which sets out how it is to be used.

The policy adopted should be tailored for the facts and circumstances of each charity, however, some of the key considerations for all charities should include:

• How the use of social media furthers the charity’s purpose;
• The controls in place around the charity's use of social media;
• Who is responsible for the day-to-day use of the charity’s social media; and
• The charity’s guidelines for individuals connected to the charity relating to their own personal social media use.

The Commission has published a checklist with a number of prompts to consider to aid users in developing their policies.

Managing potential risks

Social media policies

The social media policy should set out, in conjunction with other communications and training, how trustees, staff and volunteers who are involved in using the charity’s social media channels should conduct themselves online.

For example, they should avoid posting any content which is harmful, inconsistent with the charity’s purpose or interest, or that is illegal.

It should be remembered that the general public may be able to post comments on the charity’s social media channels and these comments could contain inappropriate or illegal content. Even if not posted or endorsed by the charity or anyone connected with it, this can still cause issues. Therefore, charities should consider using the platform’s tools to moderate content and this could involve, for example, staff or volunteers having the ability to hide or delete comments or restricting who can post them in the first place.

Laws and regulations

As with any form of communication, charities should be mindful of the need to comply with the law. Some of the key laws and regulations to be mindful of when using social media are:

• GDPR
• Copyright law
• Defamation law
• Whistleblower protection
• Equality and human rights law
• The Code of Fundraising Practice

It’s not just laws that should be considered either, as the social media platform being used will have its own rules and codes of conduct that need to be followed.

Although controversy can arise around any subject, there are some situations which present higher risks.

For example, in situations where the charity deals with vulnerable people or is involved in discussions around emotive topics. The charity should not shy away from such matters if they will help with the achievement of its charitable purpose, however the risks involved should be carefully assessed before any decision is made.

Possible consequences of inappropriate social media use

As with any online activity, once content is posted it can be very difficult to ‘undo’. Deleting a comment, for example, will not help if people have already seen it.

The consequences of inappropriate social media usage could vary from reputational damage to prosecution, or both. Therefore, it is important to get the approach and content right first time.

It is also important that personal social media activities do not cause controversy, as these can still reflect poorly on the charity where that person is known to be connected to it. The risks of any such content negatively impacting the charity will likely rise with the seniority of the person involved.

For example, the CEO would be so closely connected to the charity that any controversy around their own behaviour will almost certainly be linked back to the charity itself. Therefore, it is important that the social media policy should include guidance around this.

Final thoughts

Even for small charities which have very little social media use, the potential impact of getting it wrong means the importance of having a suitable policy in place cannot be overstated.

If you do want to develop a policy but you’re unsure where to start, the checklist from the Charity Commission includes a number of helpful prompts to get you started, and it could even be useful if you just want to double-check that your existing policy hasn’t missed anything.