Use of social media by organizations needs regulation, Ovum says

By eGovAsia Editors | Sep 15, 2010

Thumbnail: 

MELBOURNE – The use of social media by organizations when dealing with the public needs regulation to protect sensitive information from being divulged by blundering staff, according to Ovum, an independent telecoms analyst.

More and more public and private sector organizations have begun to respond to customer queries and complaints via tools such as Twitter and Facebook. But according to Ovum, regulations need to be put in place to ensure that information is used appropriately. In addition, it believes that peer-to-peer support conducted via social media should be monitored, to ensure that customers do not unintentionally pass on incorrect information.

“The financial services industry has already made it a requirement that communications through social media are recorded and retained,” Aphrodite Brinsmead, an Ovum analyst, said. “We think this needs to go a step further and that all organizations using social media to interact with customers should be regulated.”