Keeping it Legal On Social Media

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Janelle

This month’s Houston Social Media Breakfast discussion covered a topic near and dear to our hearts (or at least our inboxes) – the legal issues at play when using social media, and how to set yourself (and your company) up for success.

Some key takeaways:

Trademark early

When starting any new business venture, including activity on social media, it is crucial to do a basic search online to make sure the name you’re using hasn’t already been trademarked.
It’s also a good idea to run a search on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website uspto.gov, just to be sure.

Write a social media policy

Sitting down with people in your company to define the goals of the social media page not only will help you gain support, but also it will protect you if an issue arises.
MMI tip: Don’t know where to start on writing your social media policies? The good news is your aren’t the first to tackle this task. This website has done a fantastic job of compiling corporate and brand policies across the interwebs, for easy reference.

Understand Facebook contests

You are not allowed to run contests or sweepstakes directly on your Facebook page. For example, a post that says, “Someone who likes this post will win a $100 gift card!” is against Facebook guidelines.
Instead, you’ll need to hire a third party to create an app for your contest or sweepstakes. This places the liability on the third party if something goes wrong with the contest and therefore protects your company and Facebook.
MMI tip: Always loop in your lawyers early when beginning a social media sweepstakes. Contest rules are mandatory and need expert eyes for review before going live.

Full disclosure

It is imperative for brand ambassadors (particularly bloggers) to have a disclaimer whenever they review products that they were gifted or they are being paid to write about.
Small actions like a tweet, re-tweet or post about a brand or product don’t necessarily need a full disclaimer. But if there is a trend over time, it is wise to periodically have the brand ambassador bring their relationship with the brand to the attention of his or her readers.

Social networking sites are changing faster every year, and every organization is different, so those responsible for implementing social media programs will need to continue to build strong, collaborative relationships with internal legal and compliance teams to make sure every element they are putting into place falls in line with organizational standards.

The task can seem daunting, but after working with organizations with compliance-driven environments, including health organizations that must address HIPAA concerns, we can attest that it can be navigated successfully, no matter how complex the environment.

Password security and the LinkedIn Data Breach

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Robin

How secure are our online logins?

You’ve probably heard about the LinkedIn password data breach. LinkedIn reports that approximately 6.5 million user passwords have been at least partially decoded and posted on hacker websites.

Partially decoded? Most companies encrypt and separate logins and passwords to prevent and minimize security breaches affecting user accounts. If my login is robin and my password is 1234 (1234 is purported to be the most common iPhone passcode key, and it is not a recommended password), that data is separated and encrypted. To oversimplify: Robin looks like ##### and is stored in one location, while 1234 is #### and is stored somewhere else.

According to the official message from LinkedIn, the password files were stolen and posted online, with the majority of the passwords still at least partially encrypted.

What does this mean for us?

Change your password now. Our accounts probably are safe, but our passwords may be at least partially uncoded. If this is a password we use for multiple accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook, Bank of America, etc.) all of those accounts just got a tad more vulnerable.

Following are suggested Do’s & Don’ts from MMI regarding our response to the LinkedIn password breach. #1 recommendation is change your password now.

IMPORTANT: Do’s & Don’ts for LinkedIn Response

Don’t panic. Although password security was temporarily breached, most passwords were not fully decoded and according to LinkedIn, no email logins associated with the passwords were revealed. LinkedIn also says they have received no verified reports of unauthorized access to user accounts.
Don’t click on url links in emails purporting to be from LinkedIn. While LinkedIn is contacting some users, most of us will not receive a legitimate email asking us to “click here” to reset our password. In general, emails asking us to click a link and update our user name and password are scams by thieves “phishing” for account access data.
Do re-set your password.
Do go directly to the site by typing in LinkedIn.com (Don’t click on a link provided by a third party).
Do review overall password security – is your old LinkedIn password one you used for other accounts as well? We recommend updating any use of the old password.
Do call us with any questions or concerns.

Don’t cancel your LinkedIn account simply because of this password breach. My personal assessment of LinkedIn is that it remains a valuable professional resource, and I hope LinkedIn will redouble its security protocols going forward.

One last thing: if your iPhone unlock passcode or debit card pin number is 1234 and this post has prompted you to change it, avoid replacing 1234 with 0000, 1111 or 9999. They’re on the Top Ten List, too.

Be safe out there, folks.

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