Social Media Conduct Information

• What is social media?

  There are many definitions of social media, but generally speaking, it refers to websites and digital applications (apps) that allow users to create and share content or participate in social networking.

  Commonly used social media outlets include recognized platforms such as Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as blogs, and online forums.

Social Media Benefits and Risks

Social media use is widespread, and the number of users continues to grow. It can be used by real estate licensees in many ways, including marketing services, outreach to consumers, as well as connecting with other real estate licensees to build professional networks.

However, social media can blur the boundary between public and private, as well as personal and professional. This overlap raises several regulatory issues, including advertising, licensee duties, client confidentiality, and licensee misconduct.

While this information page and the associated guidelines focus specifically on social media conduct, licensees are advised to carefully review other information and guidelines on BCFSA’s Knowledge Base in relation to wider social media use. This includes and is not limited to: 

• • Advertising Information
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Checklist and Sample Advertising
  • Duties to Clients Information
  • Duties to Clients Guidelines
  • Confidentiality Information
  • Confidentiality Guidelines

Licensee Conduct When Using Social Media

It is well established that a member of a regulated profession’s “off-duty” conduct can be misconduct deserving of sanction by the applicable regulator. Personal conduct that may harm the confidence and trust that the public places in members of those professions may also be considered a professional misconduct issue.

Under the Real Estate Services Act (RESA), misconduct by licensees includes both professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a licensee.

Under Section 35(1) of RESA, professional misconduct includes conduct that contravenes RESA, the Real Estate Services Rules or the Real Estate Services Regulation and is related to the provision of real estate services. Licensees have a number of general responsibilities as set out under Part 3 of the Rules. These include duties to clients under Section 30, such as acting in the best interests of your client, maintaining client confidentiality, as well as the duty under Section 33 to act honestly when providing real estate services. All of these apply to govern a licensee’s conduct on social media.  

Under Section 35(2) of RESA, licensees can also be disciplined for conduct unbecoming. This includes conduct that:

• Is contrary to the best interests of the public;
• Undermines public confidence in the real estate industry; or
• Brings the real estate industry into disrepute.

The scope of what constitutes “conduct unbecoming” is very broad and captures conduct that occurs outside the provision of real estate services. Licensees are expected to act professionally and with integrity, as their behavior on and off the clock can affect the public’s confidence in the real estate industry. This includes both personal and professional social media use, for example. In some cases, a licensee’s conduct can constitute both professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming, depending on the particulars of the conduct in question.

Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech

While freedom of expression is a constitutional right in Canada, like all constitutional rights, it is subject to reasonable limits. Hate speech and discriminatory speech are prohibited under federal and provincial laws.

The federal Criminal Code covers hate speech on the internet, including on social media sites where there is a sufficient link to Canada¹; and British Columbia’s Human Rights Code covers hate and discriminatory speech on the internet, including social media sites, where there is a sufficient link to British Columbia.²

In addition, emerging case law indicates that members of regulated professions must abide by the rules of their regulatory body that may limit their freedom of expression, including on social media. For example, regulators can impose requirements relating to respectful communication, confidentiality, advertising, and other matters that impact freedom of expression.

¹ See Criminal Code, sections 318 to 320.1.
² See Human Rights Code, section 7; Chilliwack Teachers’ Association v. Neufeld (No.3), 2024 BCHRT 232 (CanLII)