Privacy and Social Media: A Contradiction in Terms?


Technology has become ubiquitous; the Internet provides access to information (and misinformation) on a constant 365-days-a-year, 24-hours-a-day basis and mobile devices enable access from almost anywhere at any time. It seems that these days, anyone can find out everything, about anything or anyone, at any time! As if that weren’t enough, add to the mix the fact that millions of people voluntarily create and update Facebook profiles, announce their every activity through Tweets, “check in” on Foursquare, post videos on YouTube, and post or tag photos on their Pinterest boards. People virtually offer up the intimate details of their lives on an ongoing basis, with seemingly little or no thought about privacy, until something goes wrong. Then, all of a sudden, the virtual world gets creepy.

In this session, we will look at some recent FTC actions (and other regulatory activity) in the social media space to understand just how wrong things can go. Together, we’ll look at what lessons can be learned from the resulting settlements and consent decrees, explore some pitfalls to avoid, and understand what the settlements might mean for you and your company’s use of social media.
Technology has become ubiquitous; the Internet provides access to information (and misinformation) on a constant 365-days-a-year, 24-hours-a-day basis and mobile devices enable access from almost anywhere at any time. It seems that these days, anyone can find out everything, about anything or anyone, at any time! As if that weren’t enough, add to the mix the fact that millions of people voluntarily create and update Facebook profiles, announce their every activity through Tweets, “check in” on Foursquare, post videos on YouTube, and post or tag photos on their Pinterest boards. People virtually offer up the intimate details of their lives on an ongoing basis, with seemingly little or no thought about privacy, until something goes wrong. Then, all of a sudden, the virtual world gets creepy.

In this session, we will look at some recent FTC actions (and other regulatory activity) in the social media space to understand just how wrong things can go. Together, we’ll look at what lessons can be learned from the resulting settlements and consent decrees, explore some pitfalls to avoid, and understand what the settlements might mean for you and your company’s use of social media.

Session Presented By:

Jessica Blazer
Senior Privacy Counsel
Chevron Corporation
cialis potenzmittel viagra in tschechien kaufen