Digital Self-Ownership: A Publicity-Rights Framework for Determining Employee Social Media Rights

Imagine an upandcoming company hires you as one of its first employees. Passionate about your employer, you put in long hours doing everything from marketing to accounting to event planning. You are also proud of your employer's product, so you begin to publicize it to your friends through your social network accounts. (In fact, the company's founder is also one of your Facebook friends.) You tell your friends about the product launch, invite them to marketing events, and eventually blog about your industry, amassing a significant social media following while creating buzz about your employer. But one day, during layoffs unrelated to your own efforts, you are fired. As you walk out the door, your supervisor asks you to return the office keys, your parking pass, and... administrative rights to your social media profiles . Can this be?