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Social Media Usage Toolkit
Practical Law Toolkit 0-501-1201 (Approx. 20 pages)
Social Media Usage Toolkit
by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology and Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources to assist in identifying potential business benefits and associated legal risks presented by company, employee, and third-party use of social media.
Everyone has heard of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, but there are hundreds of social media sites with billions of participants. These users are not just individuals. Companies of all sizes and their personnel are active in the social media space, including blogs, Facebook fan pages, Twitter microblogs, Instagram accounts, and YouTube channels.
Social media sites allow online and mobile users to interact by:
- Sharing information via video, audio, and text.
- Broadcasting information to and among fellow users, whether they are connected or not.
For companies, social media offers huge potential benefits. However, these tools also present legal and business risks, including those relating to:
- Intellectual property (both company and third-party rights).
- Advertising and marketing, including sweepstakes and word-of-mouth campaigns.
- Employment practices and employee relationships.
The speed of development in social media can often outstrip a business's risk management capability. Companies need to understand the risks attributable to the use of social media tools and take steps to ensure they are adequately protected.
This Social Media Usage Toolkit provides resources designed to assist companies in identifying and managing the risks presented by company, employee, and third-party use of social media.