Half of employees banned from Facebook

Survey reveals firms' concerns over corporate image is to blame

Half of UK employees are banned from using social networking site Facebook, according to a survey from software development firm HCL Technologies.

According to a report in the Telegraph, management fears over corporate reputation are behind the restrictions.

In September last year, senior council officer Rehana Mohamed provoked widespread anger for comments she made about servants on social media site Twitter.

Many CIOs advise a cautious approach to social media.

Clifford Burroughs, CIO at consumer goods company United Biscuits, told Computing last month that he has set up a group within his firm to trial the use of Twitter.

"Social media and collaborative tools are useful to the business, but we're still quite cautious about access to things like Facebook and Twitter. We've set up a super-surfers group, which will be able to access these tools, and we're still trying to contain that until we understand the wider benefits."

Similarly, Adam Gerrard, while working as CIO at car hire firm Avis, agreed that the first priority is to protect the brand reputation.

"A lot of firms are trying to find value in social media, but there is a need to protect the brand, which can prevent full use of this channel. Anything that people say is out there forever," he said in December.