Communications leaders debate the need for social media regulation at House of Commons
Last night (27 October) the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) hosted a Debating Group event at the House of Commons in partnership with Tomorrow’s Company. The motion "You don’t need compliance rules when your employees have social media” was passed by 18 votes.
Proposing the motion:
- Mark Goyder, Founder Director, Tomorrow’s Company
- Seconded by: Amelia Torode, Director of Strategy, The Good Relations Group
Opposing the motion:
- Sally Sykes, Executive Board Director, Parliament & Health Service Ombudsman
- Seconded by: Jenni Wheller, CIPR Inside Chair, Head of Internal Communication UK, Ireland Group, SSP Limited
Mark Goyder and Amelia Torode convinced the audience that successful organisations place emphasis on promoting values and trust, rather than enforcing compliance. They argued that social media compliance creates a culture of fear which ultimately detriments operational performance.
​During a lively discussion, chaired by The Rt Hon Lord Black of Brentwood, issues of compliance, reputational risk and transparency were debated by the panel.
I’d like to thank all panellists and members of the audience for attending the debate. Quite a few people changed their view as a result of hearing the arguments, and there were a lot of very good contributions from the floor. I think the lesson is that a lot of us are ready and keen to move forward to the new kind of corporate environment which Tomorrow’s Company described for us.
View CIPR President Stephen Waddington’s Conversation blog post on the debate.
View the Storify of the #CIPRdebate below.