With the rise of new media and next generation communications tools, the way in which Cisco employees can communicate internally and externally continues to evolve. While this creates new opportunities for communication and collaboration, it also creates new responsibilities for Cisco employees.
This Internet Postings Policy applies to employees who use the following:
- Multi-media and social networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo! Groups and YouTube
- Blogs (Both Cisco Blogs and Blogs external to Cisco)
- Wikis such as Wikipedia and any other site where text can be posted
- All of these activities are referred to as “Internet postings” in this Policy
Please be aware that violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Common sense is the best guide if you decide to post information in any way relating to Cisco. If you are unsure about any particular posting, please contact the Cisco “internet postings” email alias for guidance. For instance, if you are writing about Cisco business where you have responsibility, you may wish to make sure your manager is comfortable with your taking that action.
Your Internet postings should not disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to the company or to any third party that has disclosed information to Cisco.
If you comment on any aspect of the company’s business or any policy issue in which the company is involved and in which you have responsibility, you must clearly identify yourself as a Cisco employee in your postings or blog site(s) and include a disclaimer that the views are your own and not those of Cisco. In addition, Cisco employees should not circulate postings they know are written by other Cisco employees without informing the recipient that the author of the posting is a Cisco employee.
Your Internet posting should reflect your personal point of view, not necessarily the point of view of Cisco. Because you are legally responsible for your postings, you may be subject to liability if your posts are found defamatory, harassing, or in violation of any other applicable law. You may also be liable if you make postings which include confidential or copyrighted information (music, videos, text, etc.) belonging to third parties. All of the above mentioned postings are prohibited under this policy.
When posting your point of view, you should neither claim nor imply you are speaking on Cisco’s behalf, unless you are authorized in writing by your manager to do so.
If you identify yourself as a Cisco employee on any Internet posting, refer to the work done by Cisco or provide a link on a Cisco website, you are required to include the following disclaimer in a reasonably prominent place: “the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cisco.
Your Internet postings should not include Cisco’s logos or trademarks, and should respect copyright, privacy, fair use, financial disclosure, and other applicable laws.
Cisco Blogs (located on http://blogs.cisco.com) are blogs requiring corporate approval in which employees may blog about Cisco and our industry. Only Cisco Blogs may include the company’s logo. Cisco Blogs may also include links back to Cisco web destinations. All Cisco Blogs must include a legal disclaimer stating that all posts by the author, guest author and visitors reflect personal thoughts and opinions which are not necessarily those of the company.
Cisco may request that you avoid certain subjects or withdraw certain posts from a Cisco Blog if it believes that doing so will help ensure compliance with applicable laws, including securities regulations.
Cisco reserves the right to remove any posted comment on Cisco Blog site(s) that is not appropriate for the topic discussed or uses inappropriate language. Cisco also reserves the right to post particular communications on a Cisco Blog.
If a member of the news media or blogger contacts you about an Internet posting that concerns the business of Cisco, please refer that person to Cisco public relations, see: http://tools.cisco.com/newsroom/contactSearch/jsp/prSearch.jsp
Your Internet postings should not violate any other applicable policy of Cisco, including those set forth in the Employee Resource Guide and the Code of Business Conduct.
You agree that Cisco shall not be liable, under any circumstances, for any errors, omissions, loss or damages claimed or incurred due to any of your Internet postings.
Cisco reserves the right to suspend, modify, or withdraw this Internet Postings Policy, and you are responsible for regularly reviewing the terms of this Internet Postings Policy.
Related
• A list of social media policies at corporations, news organizations and nonprofits