A Cyberspace of Liability
legal matters
Social Media in Community Associations:
A Cyberspace of Liability
By: James C. Turffs, Esq. Hill Tannenbaum
Email: jturffs @ hilltannenbaum. com Phone: 941 / 316-0111
Florida community associations increasingly rely on social media for fast, low-cost communication and engagement. Some are creating Facebook groups, using private forums on the association’ s website, using X( formerly known as Twitter), or otherwise putting themselves online. Despite the many benefits of using online platforms, there are also many potential pitfalls and concerns that associations should be prepared to address as they move into cyberspace.
For example, associations should consider official record requirements when interacting online. Florida statutes require all written records of an association to be retained as official records, which could include online messages. For example, imagine that an owner sends what could be considered an official records request through an association’ s Facebook Messenger account. That message could be considered an official records request, whether or not the association knew of it. To avoid that situation, an association can adopt appropriate policies or rules governing how official record requests are made or regulate the use of messenger apps and services for communication between the board and the membership.
In any event, since online communications may be considered official records, subject to statutory record retention policies, any association using online communication should have a system in place to preserve digital data. Whether that involves saving code for webpages, creating screenshots, or employing other digital data-saving technologies would depend on the type of platform at issue and may require specific guidance from a vendor with sufficient knowledge and capabilities to assist the association in its record retention effort. Not only should an association be concerned with preserving its general recordkeeping purposes, but, in the event that some online activity becomes the subject of a lawsuit, having the data available in a reliable and admissible format for use in court may be integral to the outcome of such an action.
Beyond record-keeping concerns, directors also need to be concerned about what they say online and how they say it. A director should generally consider anything they say or post online to be treated as if it were posted in their capacity as a director of the association. From a decorum standpoint, any director acting online should treat their comments as if they will be read by the entire community, and in some cases, that may actually be the case.
Also, to avoid confusion and potential liability, directors should be careful to note whether they are speaking for the association or on their own behalf when posting online on matters related to association business. A person
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