When sensitive information surfaces from inside your company, speed and process discipline determine the damage curve. This quiz tests how well you balance legal, HR and communications steps when leaks go public on social media.
A sensitive internal deck is posted by a staffer on a public platform. What is the correct first move?
Activate Legal–HR–Comms, issue a legal hold, and preserve the post and metadata before any takedown.
Silently delete internal access and wait 24 hours to see if coverage fades.
Post a rebuttal thread from the brand handle to ‘set the record straight’ first.
Request an immediate takedown and announce disciplinary action the same hour.
An employee’s social post organizing coworkers to discuss pay gets traction. What legal boundary must comms respect?
Protections apply only to private groups, not public posts.
Posts seeking group action on pay/conditions may be protected concerted activity; avoid retaliation or discipline for that speech.
Any mention of salary online voids labor protections and permits summary termination.
Only unionized employees have speech protections on social media.
Before asking a platform to remove a leaked file, which step reduces litigation risk the most?
Block the employee’s accounts to halt sharing, then consider preservation later.
Publish an apology to reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit.
Capture a forensically sound copy and trigger a documented legal hold.
Crowd‑report the post to accelerate removal and avoid screenshots.
A manager proposes forcing staff to surrender personal phones for review after a leak. What is the safest comms posture?
Review only photos—those are exempt from privacy laws.
Ask IT to clone devices silently to avoid evidence tampering.
Collect all personal devices; consent is implied by employment.
Defer to counsel and privacy guidance; follow BYOD policy and applicable privacy laws before any collection.
A post alleges legal violations and includes internal screenshots. What principle should your response team prioritize?
Treat it as potential whistleblowing: protect against retaliation and route to the investigation channel.
Publicly deny and threaten legal action to deter further leaks.
Ask employees to sign new NDAs before proceeding.
Suspend all involved employees immediately to show zero tolerance.
What makes a social‑media holding statement most defensible in the first 2 hours?
Quote internal emails to demonstrate transparency and resolve the matter quickly.
Acknowledge the issue, confirm investigation/preservation steps, and promise updates without speculating on cause or blame.
Avoid any statement to prevent discovery of admissions.
Name the suspected employee and detail the internal process to reassure stakeholders.
Your internal chat logs and moderation tools could shed light on the leak’s origin. What is the right eDiscovery move?
Delete chat history older than 7 days to minimize review costs.
Wait until a court requests data to avoid over‑collection.
Preserve relevant chat and audit logs immediately and document custodians under legal hold.
Export only message text; metadata is not discoverable.
An HR lead wants to announce disciplinary action internally the same day. What sequencing avoids avoidable risk?
Publish a redacted timeline externally to prove decisiveness.
Announce discipline immediately to ‘send a message’ and deter further leaks.
Poll employees anonymously on punishment before investigating.
Run the investigation first under privilege; communicate outcomes after facts are established and evidence preserved.
What’s the safest approach to monitoring employee social accounts during an active leak?
Limit to public information and follow labor/privacy rules; avoid coercing access to private accounts.
Require password disclosure for all personal accounts while the investigation is open.
Ask coworkers to forward screenshots from private groups regardless of consent.
Deploy covert tools to capture DMs in real time for any suspect.
Who should own external outreach to the platform and press while facts are being gathered?
The direct line manager of the suspected employee.
A counsel‑aligned comms lead who coordinates with Legal and HR under an approved plan.
IT security, because they have the most technical context.
Any executive comfortable on social media to speed replies.
Starter
You have the basics—build muscle memory: activate counsel early, preserve evidence before takedowns, and avoid retaliating against potential whistleblowing.
Solid
Strong instincts—tighten sequencing: legal hold first, then investigation and platform actions; document decisions with HR and counsel.
Expert!
Impressive: you align HR–Legal–Comms under privilege, distinguish protected activity, and maintain auditable preserves before public statements.
