2012 Olympic Athletes Are Encouraged To Tweet

Athletes competing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London are free to tweet and upload photos to social media sites during the competition, the Olympic Committee said. However, broadcasting audio or video taken inside the venues will remain prohibited in the 2012 Olympics. Breaching the guidelines could mean getting banned from the competition.

The athletes are actively encouraged to “take part in social media and to post, blog, and tweet their experiences,” the guidelines from the Olympic Committee (AOC) say, as long as they do not do so for commercial purposes.

In addition, Tweeters must steer away from curse or vulgar words, use “first-person, diary-type formats,” and should not report on events in the manner of journalists. On the other hand, “accredited media may freely utilize social media platforms for bona fide reporting purposes.”

Athletes can upload photos to social media sites but cannot sell them or distribute them in other ways. During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, uploading photos taken at venues was prohibited.