Public relations practitioners should be aware of various legal issues that can affect their professional practice. While practitioners may not be expected to be legal experters, they should have a working knowledge of the issues.<\/p>\n
Does the Law Match the Technology?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the reasons that litigation is increasing so rapidly is that the laws that are on the books haven\u2019t kept up with advances in technology.\u00a0 Dallas attorney Sean E. Tuma, one of the leading experts on social media law, says that legislatures want to keep up \u2014 but they simply can\u2019t do it. So when considering the laws that might affect your next PR campaign, Tuma advises marketers to look beyond the obvious laws (like copyright), to the more mundane rules like contract and common law. One of the most common problems that individuals run into online is an agreement they have signed \u2014 an employee policy, the terms of service (TOS) or end user license agreement (EULA), or a contract \u2014 that doesn\u2019t seem relevant before they post something.\u00a0 But contract law and agreements apply both online and off. Many websites (like Facebook and Twitter) have terms of service that spell out what you can and can\u2019t do on their site.\u00a0 But how many of us actually read them before clicking \u201caccept\u201d? Did you know about this line buried in the Facebook TOS: \u201cYou must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action, using any Facebook features or functionality, other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app.\u00a0 For example, you must not condition registration or entry to any promotion upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.\u201d\u00a0 Do some Facebook pages violate this rule for their contests or sweepstakes?\u00a0You bet! Will you be able to do it without getting your company\u2019s Facebook page suspended?\u00a0 Who knows? It\u2019s a roll of the dice \u2014 are you willing to risk it?<\/p>\n Who Owns Social Media Accounts?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most contentious areas in social media litigation is the ownership of social media accounts and content.\u00a0 From lawsuits over LinkedIn contacts\u00a0to disputes about Twitter accounts\u00a0to wrangles over employee adherence to social media policies, this is the fastest growing area of legal troubles for all marketers. If you have an existing social media account before you take a PR job, and you will be using that account to post or share information for your new client or employer, make sure that the ownership of the existing social media account is spelled out before the first post is made.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re starting a social media campaign for a new client or employer, seriously consider setting up a new account \u2014 something like PRGenieJohnny \u2014 to separate your work account from your personal JohnnyADoe\u00a0account.<\/p>\n What Government Regulations Matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you work in a heavily regulated industry \u2014 banking, education, financial services, government, health care, insurance, medicine, pharmaceuticals \u2014 chances are you already know that your PR, marketing, and social media messages are subject to rules from an alphabet soup list of regulatory agencies. But the word hasn\u2019t gotten out as widely as it might have \u2014 the people most likely to be fired (or even prosecuted) for online comments are still public service employees (teachers, teacher\u2019s aides, nurses, police and firefighters), most of them posting what they thought were comments protected by the First Amendment. But there are other federal and state rules that affect everyone online, such as CAN-SPAM (which DOES apply to Twitter\u00a0and Facebook direct messages, not just to email) and Federal Trade Commission rules on truth-in-advertising.\u00a0 Do you have an auto-responder set in your Tweet scheduling app to thank people who follow you, and suggest that they also like you on Facebook \u2014 or download something?\u00a0 Does that constitute \u201cspam\u201d?\u00a0For now, it\u2019s up to each user to decide whether to report a direct message to Twitter as spam.<\/p>\n Do You Need Permission to Post?<\/strong><\/p>\n Some lawyers have never heard of the right of publicity \u2014 until one of their clients gets into trouble for violating it.\u00a0 \u00a0Simply restated, the right of publicity is the right of every person to control the way their \u201cname, voice, signature, photograph, image, likeness, distinctive appearance, gestures or mannerisms\u201d are used. It\u2019s the right of publicity \u2014 not the right of privacy \u2014 that comes into play in the so-called Streisand Rule about publishing images of a celebrity\u2019s home, and it\u2019s the right of publicity that makes posting photos of your employees, guests at a fund-raiser, or customers at your business, problematic. Sometimes, getting permission before you post an image, a comment, or (especially) a video can be the most important step in planning a social media or PR campaign.<\/p>\n How Do I Protect Myself?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re like most people confronted with a list of things that can get you sued or fined, your first reaction is to question whether or not it\u2019s worth it to take the risk.\u00a0 When it comes to social media and PR, there\u2019s no question that they\u2019re among the most cost-effective ways to market your company\u2019s products and services \u2014 and opting out of either one isn\u2019t really an option. So the question becomes one of protecting yourself and your company, and the best advice we can offer is simple:\u00a0 understand the rules, and minimize your risk by following them. Three important steps can minimize the risks: Create a social media policy, train employees on following the policy, and enforce it evenly and fairly. Involve legal and compliance teams in your PR and social media planning process, especially if it\u2019s a new area for the company. Purchase Cyber Insurance to protect your assets.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.vskills.in\/certification\/Certified-Public-Relations-Officer<\/a><\/p>\n Public relations practitioners should be aware of various legal issues that can affect their professional practice. While practitioners may not be expected to be legal experters, they should have a working knowledge of the issues. 5 Legal Issues Does the Law Match the Technology? One of the reasons that litigation is increasing so rapidly is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[3070],"class_list":["post-19817","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-public-relations-officer","tag-legal-issues"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nApply for PRO Certification Now!!<\/h3>\n
Go To Tutorial- Certified Public Relations Officer Tutorial\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"