A social media post is a publication, and Dutch law treats it as one. The same rules that apply to a newspaper apply to a message shared with a few hundred followers: what is said can be defamatory, what is shown can breach someone’s portrait rights, what is disclosed can breach confidentiality or data protection law, and what is posted about an employer can end an employment relationship.
What you say about others
Damaging someone’s reputation by asserting facts that are untrue can be both a criminal offence and an unlawful act, and the aggravated form applies where the person knew the statement was false. Courts weigh freedom of expression against the reputation of the person concerned, and the decisive question is usually how far the allegation was supported by facts available at the time.
Sharing someone else’s post does not neutralise the risk. Republication is publication, and a person who forwards an unlawful statement to a new audience can be liable for that act.
What you show
Publishing a photograph of an identifiable person can breach their portrait rights where they have a reasonable interest in opposing it, and consent is not implied by the fact that the photograph was taken in public. Where a photograph was commissioned by the person shown, publication requires their permission. And the copyright in a photograph belongs to whoever took it: reposting an image found online is an infringement unless a licence covers it.
What you disclose about work
This is where most avoidable damage occurs. Posting confidential information about an employer, a client or a case can breach an express confidentiality clause and, independently, the duty to behave as a good employee. Dutch courts have upheld dismissals for posts that were insulting about an employer or that disclosed internal information, and have equally rejected dismissals where the post was mild, private in character, or provoked.
The factors that decide these cases are consistent: how public the post was, how identifiable the employer, how serious the content, whether the employer had a social media policy the employee knew about, and whether a warning would have been the proportionate response. An employer with a clear, communicated policy is in a far stronger position than one without.
What it means for you afterwards
Posts are durable and searchable, and they surface in contexts they were never written for: a screening for a Certificate of Good Conduct is not affected by them, but an employer’s own search, an insurer’s investigation, a custody dispute or a personal injury claim frequently is. Content posted years earlier is regularly produced in evidence.
Practical guidance
Assume everything is public and permanent. Separate fact from opinion, and be able to support anything stated as fact. Do not post about a live dispute, an employer or a client. Ask before publishing a recognisable photograph of someone else. And if you have posted something you regret, deleting it is sensible but not a cure – screenshots outlive the post.
Advice
We advise on removal and rectification, on employment consequences of posts on both sides, and on social media policies for employers. Please contact Law & More.
