New Social Media Rule for Australian Racing
Description:
A regulation on social media conduct for those involved in Australia's racing industry has been added to the Australian Rules of Racing, effective March 1.
Under the new rule, it is an offense to post what is deemed inappropriate content on social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.
The regulation was inserted into a rule that already provides a general offense for misconduct, improper conduct, or unseemly behavior. The rule: "AR. 175. The Principal Racing Authority may penalize: Any person who in their opinion is guilty of engaging in the publishing or posting on any social media platform or channel any material, content or comment that is obscene, offensive, defamatory, racist, threatening, harassing, discriminating or abusive to any other person or entity involved in the racing industry."
In issuing the new rule, the Australian Racing Board said it believed it necessary to have a rule specifically dealing with social media conduct.
"Stewards have raised the ever-increasing problems arising from social media usage by licensed persons. ...This would spell out to persons involved in the racing industry that comments on such mediums as Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter are not regarded as private conversations between individuals. It is further noted that a number of mainstream media now regularly include comments lifted from these mediums to sensationalize racing issues."
Social media usage is also under scrutiny by racing regulators elsewhere in the world. Just recently, Japanese stewards handed French jockey Christophe Lemaire a 30-day suspension for using Twitter at Hanshin racecourse. Japan's racing rules forbid jockeys from contacting anyone until after their final race on a card.
The Japan Racing Association's Paris representative Fumitaka Tsuruoka told the BBC that Lemaire was suspended from March 1 until March 30.
"It is prohibited for the jockeys to contact any person outside after checking in the jockeys' quarter until when he/she finishes his/her final ride in that race meeting for the purpose of integrity," Tsuruoka said.