As it faced a unionization effort, Tesla contracted with a PR agency (where one of its communication directors once worked in an executive capacity) to spy on employees, including those in a semi-private Facebook group, an activity one academic found unethical. While there is nothing wrong with a company monitoring employees’ online activities, there are lines that should not be crossed. Was one of those lines crossed in this case?
The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 19. FIR “shorts” — episodes under 15 minutes — will be available several times each week.
We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to fircomments@gmail.com.
Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.
You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is available, as well.
Links from this episode:
- Tesla reportedly hired a PR firm to monitor employees on Facebook
- Tesla monitored its employees on Facebook with help of PR firm during 2017 union push
- CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny’s Twitter thread on her article
- MWW PR’s website
The post FIR #261: Crossing the Line When Surveilling Employees on Social Media appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
