Jennifer Scott and Sophie Bird, in our Charities & Education team, unpack guidance in relation to Social Media Use by Charities.
There’s no doubt that social media is a crucial and powerful communications tool for charities, helping them to achieve their missions by raising awareness and funds, engaging with beneficiaries, and reaching wider audiences. However, social media use is not without risk.
Recent Statutory Inquiries concerning Social Media Use
This is illustrated in the Charity Commission’s (the ‘Commission’) recent statutory inquiry into Al-Manar Centre Trust (the ‘Trust’) (press release available to read here). The inquiry was launched after the Trust shared a video on social media containing content that could be viewed as demonstrating support for a terrorist organisation. The inquiry led to an Official Warning and an Order regarding the Trusts social media use, and raised key issues for the wider sector, including that the duties of trustees to act in the charity’s best interest extend to social media use.
By further illustration, the Commission has even more recently issued an Official Warning to UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (the ‘Association’) regarding the Associations’ social media use as part of an ongoing case (press release available to read here). The Association posted a video containing distressing content on social media. The Commission found that trustees breached their duties in failing to have any social media policy in place and failed to act in the Association’s best interests in allowing the social media post to be made (the Association had outsourced their social media controls to a third-party).
It would be understandable, in consideration of these risks, that charities may be put off from using social media. However, this doesn’t need to be the case.
Social Media Guidance for Charities
To aid charities and their trustees in their social media usage, the Commission has published guidance (available to read here). Some key points of this guidance are highlighted below.
- Social media policy: Any charity that uses social media should develop and implement a social media policy. The content of this policy will depend on the charity’s needs, but may cover a range of areas from how the charity will use social media to responsibilities for management and incidents.
- Managing potential risks: In addition to compliance with their policy (as above), charities must ensure their social media use complies with any relevant laws (including those covering privacy, copyright and defamation) as well as the rules of the social media platform. Such applies both to content posted or shared by the charity on their charity account, and by trustees, employees and volunteers on their personal accounts.
- Campaigning, political and fundraising activity: Where charities use social media for campaigning, political and fundraising activities, additional rules may apply. For example, where social media is used to engage in campaigning or political activity, additional rules include ensuring that use activity supports the charities’ purpose and is in their best interests. Another example, where social media is used to fundraise, additional rules include those set out in the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Where the Commission considers a charities social media use has led to alleged mismanagement and/or misconduct (for example, where it does not follow the above guidance), they have the power to launch a statutory inquiry into the charity. The outcome of an inquiry may range from Official Warnings to disqualification of trustees. For further information on statutory inquiries, our previous article is available to read here.
Conclusion
Whilst there are risks involved, charities should not be put off from using social media. Provided adequate measures are taken, in accordance with the Commission guidance, social media can be hugely beneficial to charities.
For further information or legal advice on the use of social media by charities, or another matter of charity law, please email law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
This article is intended for the use of clients and other interested parties. The information contained in it is believed to be correct at the date of publication, but it is necessarily of a brief and general nature and should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.
