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Hollywood Cracking Down on Celebs on Twitter

by Amar Toor on October 19, 2009 at 01:01 PM


The latest to implement institutional or industry-wide crackdowns on Twitter, movie industry heavyweights are trying to plug the news leaks that often spring from Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites.

The Hollywood Reporter (THR) writes that studios like Disney and Dreamworks are now adding to contracts clauses that would prohibit new hires from leaking news stories before the media companies have had a chance to officially release them in their own carefully calibrated format. Though many contracts already include privacy clauses aimed at mitigating this exact issue, given the recent proliferation of big stories being broken via Twitter, executives felt a need to regulate the social networking universe in particular. Social networking often renders middlemen impotent, and, as THR points out, "enables an actor to broadcast to millions in an instant."

The push comes after several celebrities broke important news via Twitter or Facebook, either earlier than studios would have preferred, or in language that industry bigwigs would've couched. Paula Abdul, for example, recently told the world of her departure from 'American Idol' via her Twitter account, a move that drew criticism from FOX executives.

It's completely understandable, from a business perspective, that Hollywood, like the NFL and other big-time media players, would want to control the news -- nearly impossible in these wide-open days of social networking. But, now that we think about it, has Hollywood ever benefited from anything more than it has back-stabbing, grandstanding, and furious drama? [From: Mashable, via Hollywood Reporter]

Tags: disney, dreamworks, hollywood, movies, social networking, SocialNetworking, top, twitter, twitter ban, TwitterBan

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