“I fought the law…” Social Media Law
Courtesy of Flickr - limaoscarjuliet
In yesterdays article, “Clorox Seeking Attorney to Oversee Social-Media Programs,” Jack Neff discusses the move by Clorox to hire a full time attorney to monitor the company’s social media space. In a groundbreaking move, the industry has now shifted from dabbling in social media to accepting it as a viable communication platform. The duties of this new found position are to “are to clear and procure intellectual property rights regarding production and distribution of advertising, including Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Recording Artists issues, consumer privacy and video licensing.” Neff also mentioned the importance of monitoring the employee participation in the space in regards to the newly formed FTC rules.
I personally believe that social media should be left to the consumers… provide content, live the brand message, and let the consumer mold the brand into their own personal life. However, I see a great use for this type of social media attorney. The legal ramifications that have plagued corporations in our “sue-happy” culture have created a mask of fear that needs to be alleviated in such an open environment as social media. There are few brands out there participating in the social space, most of which have high legal constraints to what they can do in the space, including long lead times for content, canned responses, and highly monitored content, taking away from the “real-time” essence of social media. So, having a legal counsel focusing full time in the social space could alleviate some of these potential pitfalls in the building and harnessing the power of the personal relationships.
As more and more companies follow suit with Clorox, we need to ensure we don’t turn these platforms into another “push marketing” channel and kill the true essence of what’s happening. We need to keep in mind, that relationships take continuous, real time interaction with little to no barriers. Too much legal restriction and enforcement could defect consumers rather than embracing.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
