The right to critisize (also for union) in the age of social media and other systems of social interaction

Abstract

The diffusion of Social Media and other systems of social interaction determines, from a labour law point of view, the need for the Jurist to examine the traditional labour legislation institutes, rediscovering limits and interactions that were previously undervalued. Here we find the right to criticise (including trade unions) carried out in the context of technological spaces ("closed" or "open") with respect to which it is necessary, first and foremost, to understand whether - and how relevant - they can assume the nature and the characteristics of the "virtual" space in which the expression occurs. The decay of language in modern systems of interaction poses, then, a reflection (not only social but also legal) about the possible expansion, due to a widespread decay of customs, of the perimeter of the limit of formal self-constraint. Finally, the "virtual" spaces determine the need, within the scope of the labour law guidelines, to identify the limits of intrusion that may exist for the employer, in terms of a general "adapting" rethinking of the traditional toolbox of labour law.

Keywords

• right of criticism
• right of trade union criticism
• limits to the right to criticise
• social media
• systems of social interaction
• opinion surveys
• distance controls