SEC Fumble: Social Media Ban Revised

The Southeastern Conference told The Charlotte Observer that the conference is revising its restrictive policy on social media. Why? Because of the negative reaction in the media and on social media. Previously, the SEC wanted a conference-wide ban on social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and TwitPic.

“I know what’s being written,” said SEC conference spokesman Charles Bloom. “The thought process is to get it loosened up a bit.” Bloom expects a revision to be finished in a day or two.

Bloom also told the Observer that the main concern is video. That’s perfectly understandable — if not enforceable — considering the conference has a $3 billion, 15-year deal with CBS and ESPN. While video will still be off-limits, it looks like tweets, Facebook status updates, and even pictures will be acceptable, so long as they are for non-commercial use.

In contrast, the Big 10 also recently released a social media policy, but invites fans to take an active part of games. With this policy, the fans win.