Twitter, Tiktok, and termination: navigating employees' social media usage

With approximately 3.6 billon people expressing themselves on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, employers have to ask themselves some important questions. For example, should you set boundaries for what you will or won't accept in employees' online posting activities? Can you legally fire them for posting something on their personal social media accounts?

'We are deeply troubled'

ViacomCBS came face-to-face with an employee social media hurdle in July when the company cut ties with Nick Cannon after he made what the company called "hate speech," including anti-Semitic theories, during a YouTube podcast not associated with the firm. Shortly after the podcast, the employer issued the following statement:

ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken with Nick Cannon about . . . his podcast . . . which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him.

Deloitte, a Big Four accounting firm, recently faced a similar situation. The employer pulled a two-week summer internship offer made to Claira Janover, a Harvard graduate, after she posted an explicitly racist and threatening TikTok video, which went viral. The company stated: