The world of ever evolving social media can be legally and technologically confining for companies. ALM recently hosted an event Social Media: Risks and Rewards at the Harvard Club in New York City. The stage was set for the daylong conference by the keynote Joel Reidenberg, Professor of Law and Director at Fordham University School of Law. He focused on the impact of Social Media from a user and business perspective delving into a web site’s terms of service, privacy policy and technology.
The lively discussion began with a poll of the audience. Of the nearly one hundred senior level counsels in attendance, two had read the terms of service and five the privacy policy of LinkedIn. Simply stated, most consumers do not look at the terms of a web site. Increasingly alarming, as Facebook learned, social media sites tend to be unaware of what their “App” vendors are doing. Blending this issue with social media name squatting, underutilized technology to aid awareness of policies, and an under educated social media public; attorneys are finding it an arduous task to craft appropriate policies.
Reidenberg makes several technological and policy recommendations:
Lastly here are some interesting concluding thoughts from Reidenberg:
Privacy Policies: A Neilsen rating report stated that 78% of the public thought that if a website has a privacy policy; it means they do not share personal information. This is not the case. A policy could clearly state all the information a user submits is sellable.
Prediction: Facebook and similar social media sites could potentially be a prime candidate of a class action suit. As they continue to collect volumes of information from its users, it is possible to hold them subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The reason, Facebook is increasingly being used to screen employees.
Ultimately if policies are transparent, technology is utilized, and education is enhanced, companies can fully embrace social media as an effective tool to better their brand.
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