If you use social media for advertising, there are some legal issues that you should be aware of. Some users of social media like Pinterest may not realize that their posts could be construed as advertising. These users can also benefit from this quick primer of do’s and don’ts from Jennifer L Gregor: “Prevent Advertising Legal Errors in Social Media.”
By Michael Kernan
A major issue for Facebook going forward is going to be how it handles Right of Publicity claims by its users. Advertisers love Facebook because they have found that a friend endorsing their product has more impact on you as a consumer than a costly celebrity endorsement. The problem, as identified in the Facebook lawsuit recently settled, is Facebook users are claiming that Facebook has no right to use their name or likeness in such ads. Facebook sought to dismiss a lawsuit based upon claims that it violated its users’ Right of Publicity, but the judge refused to dismiss that lawsuit.
Facebook has now settled that lawsuit by paying $10 million to charity. (See Kevin Smith’s article.) It will be interesting to see how Facebook handles these claims going forward. The solution may lie in Facebook amending its terms of use. “Consent” is a defense to Right of Publicity actions.
Please see our article next week on terms of use.
You may also be interested in our previous entry on “The Right of Publicity in the Digital Age“.
For further background on the class action lawsuit and Facebook’s initial reaction to it, see the following two articles:
“Facebook Class Action Lawsuit Seeks$15 Billion for Privacy Violations” by Brian Prince.
“Facebook Hit with Lawsuit Alleging Privacy Wrongs” by John P Mello Jr.