Legal Implications of Social Media Marketing: How to Protect Your Business

Almost every business is using social media marketing in some way or another, but many are not aware of the legal implications of their actions. Social media is a quick way to communicate with customers, clients, and the public, which makes it a very appealing tool for businesses. Equally important to your social media campaign strategy, however, is having a set of rules and regulations for how your company uses social media platforms.

Without rules in place, you risk intellectual property breaches and employees may not know how to handle attacks or open the company up for libel charges. In this blog post, we will discuss the legal risks associated with social media marketing and how you can protect your business from potential lawsuits.

Legal implications of Social Media Marketing

Intellectual Property

One of the most crucial legal implications of social media for business is the issue of intellectual property. Two things can happen: an employee might disclose company secrets over social media, exposing your own intellectual property, or an employee may violate another entity’s intellectual property by posting content that infringes on a copyright or registered trademark.

If you expose your own proprietary information, even if you remove the post the content might still leak on a broad scale if a lot of people saw it before removal. Likewise, removing a social media post that violates another entity might not clear you of legal trouble.

One of the biggest legal risks associated with social media marketing is copyright infringement. If you use someone else’s copyrighted material without permission, you could be sued for copyright infringement. To avoid this risk, make sure that you only use original content or content that you have permission to use. you’re not sure whether something is copyrighted, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and get permission before using it.

Libel

Anytime your company compares itself to another business on social media, you must be careful not to commit libel. Libel is the act of writing false information about another person or organization with the knowledge that it’s untrue. Social media posts are considered published content, and if you knowingly publish something that is untrue, you could be subject to the same trouble as if you published the material in a printed ad or newspaper article. Avoid publishing negative material about competitors to steer clear of defamation issues.

False Advertising

While the laws regarding transparency and social media are yet a bit cloudy, it’s important to represent your company honestly over social media. Not only will it hurt your reputation to put out information that turns out to be false, but you may be subject to false advertising suits if you make claims you can’t back up. Similarly, discounts or promotions on social media might be considered false advertising if they’re not honored.

Malware Attacks

When someone clicks on spam links on Twitter or Facebook, the computer from which he is working becomes opened up to malware attacks. Malware can give a third party access to the information on a computer, and it might also cause your social media account to send out spam messages to all of your connections—this puts your social media friends at risk also.

Malware puts private company information at risk of being discovered and leaked, and can hurt your reputation if a follower believes that you were behind the spam. Care should always be taken before opening suspicious links, and spam comments need to be deleted promptly.

Finally, employees who use social media for work purposes may inadvertently open up their employer to legal risks. For example, if an employee posts something negative about a customer on social media, the customer could sue the employer for defamation. To avoid this risk, make sure you have a social media policy in place that clearly outlines what employees can and cannot do on social media.

By understanding the legal risks associated with social media marketing, you can protect your business from potential lawsuits. If you have any questions about your specific situation, we recommend talking to an attorney who specializes in social media law. Thanks for reading!

Do you have a social media policy in place at your business? Have you ever experienced any legal problems with your social media marketing campaign? Let us know in the comments below!