Although most businesses are now using social media to interact with customers and to promote their products and services, many of these companies are not taking even basic steps to minimize their potential legal exposure.
A survey from Grant Thornton found that only 36 precent of companies provide employee training for social media despite 71 percent of them having concerns about the risks. Companies such as Lord & Taylor, Duane Reade and Deutsch LA have been sued or fined by the government due to social media missteps, and many other businesses have suffered embarrassment and negative publicity as a result of employee misuse of social media.
Morrison & Foerster, a leading technology law firm, maintains its award-winning Socially Aware blog to assist companies in identifying legal pitfalls and emerging best practices in connection with their use of social media. They have prepared a “Social Media Safety Guide” intended to highlight for entrepreneurs, CEOs, compliance officers, marketing managers, HR professionals and in-house lawyers the fundamental components of a social media risk reduction strategy.
