It is clear from the aggressiveness at the FTC that online privacy is on their radar.  If you were the FTC and you wanted to fight against perceived violations of online privacy, wouldn’t you start at the largest companies and go from there?

2. Facebook, Google and others serve as the poster child of what not to do.

The FTC is using Google and Facebook as the poster children of what not to do; namely, say that you are protecting online privacy and then share information with others without a users consent.

3. You need to inform when you change privacy settings.

When you make changes to your privacy policy, not only do you need to make sure that it is in compliance with what the FTC has laid out in the Facebook case, you must also make sure that you inform those that the policy change affects.  With informing them of the change, you also need to make sure that you receive their consent on the policy change.

4. When you say that you are going to protect information, you need to do it.

The most blatant violation you could make, as with Facebook, is when you make a claim that you are going to protect online information, you need to do it.  A sound online privacy policy is crucial to your company’s protection.  From there, you must take active steps to protect online privacy.

5. Your company needs to prepare now to avoid Facebook’s situation.

How is your online privacy policy?  Is it time for some Spring cleaning?  Do you need a checkup?  Do an assessment, see the warning signs from the crackdown at Facebook, and contact an online privacy attorney today.

1. Expertise
A social media compliance attorney possess the expertise that you need to navigate this field. Such an attorney stays on top of the changing laws and court cases that may affect your company’s online presence. Moreover, you need to make sure that you protect your company from improper employee conduct online.
2. Clarity
Rather than spend your valuable time worrying about how to clearly communicate a social media policy, a Social Media attorney will craft your policy with clarity. While the goal is not to overly restrict those things that make employees happy at work, a clear and concise social media policy is crucial to avoiding future problems.
3. Precise guidance on acceptable actions
Have you ever struggled with what actions are acceptable at work? A sound social media policy will take away any questionable areas.
4. Changing laws
More and more industries have come under federal scrutiny for their social media policies. Are you up to date on what the federal government or other regulators have to say about your industry?
5. Reduce litigation costs
What’s the most important thing to your company? The bottom line? Hiring an attorney to prepare your Social Media policy can help you avoid costly problems in the first place. If a lawsuit is inevitable, then a well-established policy can protect you in litigation and reduce the costs associated with defending yourself for any social media violations.

Please contact Michael Steck with any questions about creating a Social Media Compliance program.

1. What does the company want to accomplish through the use of social media? In other words— what are your business goals and marketing objectives you hope to achieve? You will need to keep these goals in mind when limiting social media use.
2. What does the company hope to accomplish with your social media policy? Typically, companies hope to limit liability, control your message, and protect competitively sensitive or confidential information. What is your need?
3. Will the social media policy be consistent with its other corporate policies, guidelines, and overall culture? Consider your other policies in your employee manuals or in your policy and procedure manuals. What about employment agreements? Are you in compliance with applicable government or industry regulations? Remember to keep your social media policy consistent with your corporate culture as well.

These elemental questions serve as starting point for brainstorming on the matter.  Here’s what I would add to the above recommendations.

1. How will your company train its employees on the proper use of Social Media?  An effective policy is only as good as the compliance afforded by those the policy affects.
2. How will your company monitor the internal and external social media interaction?  Just as with any policy, procedure or program, to be truly effective, a company must monitor the programs effectiveness.  When considering a social media policy, a company must also decide how to evaluate and control the implementation of the program.

While not an exhaustive list of the things that should be considered as part of a comprehensive social media policy and compliance program, the above list should serve as a good starting point to an effective program.

Michael Steck is an attorney practicing internet, ecommerce, privacy and social media compliance law. Please feel free to contact him today at 801-505-9202 for a free consultation.

Excellent reading on Social Media Compliance Training.

I spent the morning going over some rather interesting discussion from the National Examination Risk Alert provided by the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations.  While not an official Securities and Exchange Commission Publication, this “Investment Adviser Use of Social Media” provided some interesting perspectives on Social Media Compliance that I believe have validity and application to other industries as well.

First of all, this article addresses how registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) should be careful of how they use Social Media to ensure that they are compliant with federal statutes and SEC rule making.  Some of the information presented in the article is RIA specific but other thoughts apply across the board. Most notably is the discussion on Social Media Compliance Training.

Do you have a Social Media Compliance Training Program?

If you already have a program or policies in place, what are you doing at the start of the New Year to evaluate that policy?  It is not enough to simply have a policy in effect, but you must also implement that policy and evaluate its effectiveness.

How would you go about creating a Social Media Compliance Training Program?

Here is a chronological list of questions that should aid in the creation of a social medial policy:

1. Company specific: Is your company a public or private company?
2. Regulated industry: Are you in a regulated industry?  If so, what regulations affect your use of Social Media?
3. Company Size/Resources:  What resources do you have to implement, train and monitor your employee’s use of Social Media?
4. Social Media Goals:  What goals do you have in implementing a social media program?
5. Data retention:  Have you considered data retention for your social media usage?

What I can do to help?

From small to large programs, I can help you create your Social Media policy based upon the above factors, train you and your employees on that policy and provide certification of completion.  Please let me know how I can help you today!