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Disclosure of confidential information through social networking sites
Hays Specialist Recruitment (Holdings) Ltd and Another v Ions and Another [2008] EWCH 745 (www.practicallaw.com/8-382-0158) was an application for pre-action disclosure in relation to a potential claim that, while employed by Hays, Mr Ions copied and retained confidential information which he used after leaving Hays.
While employed by Hays, Mr Ions was encouraged to join LinkedIn, an on-line business-oriented social networking website. Hays alleged that he had deliberately "migrated" details of business contacts from its confidential database to his personal account at LinkedIn.
Mr Ions argued that this was done with Hays' consent and that, once the business contact has accepted the invitation to join his network, the information ceased to be confidential as it could be seen by all his contacts.
The High Court held that Hays had reasonable grounds for considering that it might have a claim against Mr Ions in relation to the transfer of confidential information to his LinkedIn account while still employed by Hays.
This case is an interesting example of how social networking websites can be used as a way of transferring confidential information and the importance of employers addressing these issues.
If you have a problem of this type please feel free to ask for specialist advice on how you can protect your confidential client information successfully.
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