Disqualified!

The IOC's head of social media, Alex Huot, is talking about the first social media games to be held in London this year. In contrast to Beijing, where there were even stricter guidelines on the use of new media in 2008. The IOC is encouraging athletes to use the new channels and is reportedly even offering courses. The specially created microsite hub.olympic.org also suggests that the first Socialympics will actually start at the end of July.

But if you take a closer look at the small print on the tickets or the IOC Social Media Guidelines, you will quickly realize that things will not be quite as sociable as initially assumed.

Even though the Olympic Committee encourages athletes to use social media channels, the guidelines contain strict rules. For example, messages may only be written in the first person, they may not appear editorial and may not comment on competitions or the activities of other participants. Photos for personal use are permitted, but video and audio recordings of the Olympic site may not be shared on social media platforms. The rights to the photos must be clarified if third parties are depicted in them, and brands of non-sponsors must not be visible in the photos under any circumstances. The Olympic rings may not be used in images. Accredited media, on the other hand, may use all social media platforms in good faith (bona fide).

When asked about the strict guidelines, the IOC qualifies that it is not forbidden to share content, just not for commercial purposes. But where is the line between private and commercial use for a professional athlete? Isn't every Twitter account of a public figure also commercial in some way?

The small print when buying a ticket for the Olympic Games is similarly difficult to read. Point 19.6.3 (there are 138 points to consider) states that the holder of a ticket may only use image and sound recordings for private purposes and that publication on social media is not permitted. Let's imagine that the 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium in London take pictures and videos and none of them share them with friends on Facebook, Twitter or the like. Illusory, isn't it? The question arises as to how the IOC intends to crack down on so many people. It has allegedly already been agreed with Twitter that non-sponsors who use the hashtag #London2012 will receive a warning and may even be banned. Facebook has also been actively involved and will scan all images for unauthorized content. Some are now even rumoring that the IOC could crack down so hard thanks to its special status that the posting of photos and videos on Facebook could even be stopped during the Olympic Games.

Socialympics? Disqualified!