The increasing use of social media platforms to advertise or market businesses gives rise to some unique considerations for companies engaged in this activity. One issue to consider is liability for defamation. Defamatory statements are those made about an individual or business that would tend to lower that party's reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person, refer specifically to that party and are published or communicated to at least one other party. In using social media, companies should be sure to avoid (1) the posting of comments that might be considered defamatory, and (2) being considered a "publisher" of defamatory content by allowing users of a website, Facebook page, blog site or other site that posts comments, to post defamatory content. To avoid these pitfalls, businesses should: (1) have internal policies that govern their employees' use of social media on their behalf, (2) have terms and conditions that govern the use of their websites or blog sites by third parties to ensure that comments may be removed, (3) have procedures in place to monitor and take down objectionable content, (4) take positive steps to react to public criticism, (5) always be mindful of what they say about competitors, and (6) be prepared to take less traditional actions to deal with possible issues that arise. Knowledge of the pitfalls and monitoring of social media platforms used by your business can go a long way towards mitigating your risk of liability for defamation, while making the most of these new platforms for advertising and marketing.
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