Following my return from holiday I thought I might mention that I recently managed to make it along to the Society for Computers and Law 7th annual conference titled 'Web 2.0 - Internet Law in the 21st Century'. Some great points were made on the implications web 2.0 has for legal practitioners.
Of particular popular interest is the approach employers will have to take in relation to the proliferation of social networking sites such as Facebook, as well as the extensive development of internal blogs and the intranet as a useful work medium.
Some interesting opinions were put forward, not least that putting employee policies in place dealing with the management of legal risk is a potentially contentious issue. Employers must protect themselves when it comes to emerging technologies, but this must be balanced against the potential PR risks, see here and here for two examples.
It all suggests to me that the online community take their cyber liberties very seriously. One thing I would say is that it makes sense to have robust policies and procedures in place, and to implement them appropriately. It would be advisable to seek professional advice when doing so.
Some of the other attendees have also posted their own comments on the event, see pangloss and Simon Deane-Johns of Zopa.
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