Charity social media policies — key legal issues to consider

The global reach and engagement provided by social media platforms have changed the game for charities. However, their use does carry legal risks for charitable organisations to be aware of and overcome. If left unaddressed, these could materialise and have an adverse impact on your charity. 

Here, Ciara Lawlor from our charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises team explains the key legal issues that charities must consider when devising a social media policy.

Charity Commission guidance

To help charities mitigate these risks, the Charity Commission for England and Wales released guidance titled ‘Charities and Social Media’ in September 2023. Perhaps the most emphasised point in this guidance is the importance of charities creating and implementing an effective social media policy. 

Firstly — as with any policy — this should be regularly reviewed and updated to best suit the needs of your charity.

The Commission suggests that a charity’s social media policy should reflect the extent to which a charity plans to make use of social media. A good policy will be formulated with active input from those staff members or volunteers who’ll be working closely with the charity’s social media pages. 

How to create a good social media policy

In a nutshell, a comprehensive social media policy for a charity should address:

Who

Who is responsible for the day-to-day management of a social media account (and what training might they require)? 

Who must be consulted or informed when a serious incident (relating to social media) occurs?

What

What types of content are permitted on the charity’s social media pages? The policy should address the fact that content posted by the charity must only serve to help further its purposes. 

What is strictly forbidden on the charity’s social media pages? An effective policy might also outline the procedures that should be followed if any prohibited content was to be posted.

When

When exactly the charity should (and shouldn’t) use social media to engage with the public. This is particularly important where emotive topics and political activity are concerned. A charity can engage with emotive issues on its social media accounts if it’s in the best interests of the charity and to further its charitable purposes. However, extra caution must be taken when engaging in such sensitive issues and the charity should account for all potential risks and criticisms that may arise when engaging in emotive discussions. 

When the charity is using social media to engage in campaigning and political activity, this must be fully complaint with the Commission’s guidance on political activity and campaigning by charities.

How

How the charity plans to use social media to further its purposes and engage with supporters, beneficiaries and the wider public, including reference to which platforms it’ll use.

Why

Why the charity wishes to make use of social media and its expected benefits. 

Why trustees, staff and volunteers must adhere to the guidelines set out in a social media policy.

Talk to us

A robust social media policy is no longer an optional aspect of a charity’s governance — it’s a must. For more guidance on what should be included in a social media policy, see the Commission’s checklist.

If you need help to draft an effective and compliant social media policy, our charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises team is on-hand to support.

Give us a call on 0333 004 4488, email us at hello@brabners.com or complete our contact form below.