One in three UK companies block social media

According to research conducted by Clearswift, up to a third of companies block employees from accessing social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

The internet security firm revealed that there was growing fears about internet security. These fears were down to recent high profile hacking incidents, such as the loss of customer data from the Sony Network.

Chief operating officer at Clearswift, Andrew Wyatt observed:

“It is clear that we have seen some significant changes in attitude towards social media use in the last 12 months. Businesses have reacted to the series of high-profile data leaks and have become increasingly nervous about its usage from the workplace”

“Social networking sites often have little to do with data-loss incidents, but they have become guilty by association, because they are seen as having an impact on a company’s brand,” he added.

The number of companies in the UK blocking social media has increased by a fifth in the past year, as 53% of managers indentify social media as an issue for concern. Banks have for many years had blocking policies in place to prevent employees from accessing social networks, it now seems that a number of other industries are following suit.

Moneysupermarket.com has always had a relaxed approach to employees accessing social networks, but they are now looking to implement guidelines for staff to use social media. At the Anglo-Dutch energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, employees are not blocked access from Facebook, however if employees choose to access the site, they are reminded with a pop-up screen not to use personal sites during work hours.

On a global scale, a fifth of companies block their employees from accessing social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Last year, German car manufacturer, Porsche, banned their employees from using social media channels due to their fear of industrial espionage. Although farfetched, firms have become very wary of social media and the potential threat that it can have upon their companies.

91% of companies had become so concerned about data loss that it was stopping them from adopting new technologies, according to Mr Wyatt. He warned that moves to block social media channels could suppress innovation and alienate employees who rely on social media to communicate. If companies were to introduce stricter policies on social networking, 18% of employees said that they would feel demotivated as a result, while 19% said that they would simply work around the rules and 4% would think about leaving!

Ironically, at the same time as restricting staff using social media, companies are looking to increase their social media presence for corporate communications. 31% of UK companies have stated that they are looking to further invest in this area over the coming year. Social media is having a great impact upon everyday life and companies are continuing to embrace it in order to increase their online presence, engage with customers and to build business. Tesco for instance, has over 15,000 followers on their twitter pages and the company’s PR team maintains several Facebook pages for the company, including their main page which has up to 330,000 likes.