1. Facebook Marketing
Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Socialize Toronto: Monetizing Social Media
January 27, 2012
Presenters: Fazila Nurani, PrivaTech Consulting
David M. Adler, Leavens Strand, Glover & Adler,
LLC

2. Objectives
• Understanding the legal
framework and regulator
outlook on Facebook in
Canada and the U.S.
• Key questions from
participants.
• New developments in
Canada and the U.S.

3. Context
• Facebook boasts
over 800 million
active users.
• About 17 million
Canadian and 150
million American
“monthly active
users”
• Default privacy
settings only
changed by 15-
20% of users.

4. Canada’s Privacy Laws
• Privacy laws apply to personal information
collected, used and disclosed in the course of
commercial activities.
• Mix of federal and provincial laws:
• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents
Act, 2001– federally regulated businesses, and provinces
without their own private sector privacy law.
• B.C. Personal Information Protection Act, 2004
• Alberta Personal Information Protection Act, 2004
• Quebec Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information
in the Private Sector, 1994
• Health privacy laws:
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New
Brunswick, Newfoundland

5. OPCC’s Take on Facebook
• The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada investigated
Facebook’s practices in August of 2009. Key findings:
 Sharing of personal information with third-party developers creating
Facebook applications raises serious privacy risks.
 Distinction between account deactivation and deletion not clear.
 Lack of transparency in Facebook’s privacy policy.
• September 2010 – OPCC stated the issues raised have been
resolved to her satisfaction, and at the same time announced her
investigation of the “Like” button.
• Stoddart:
“Facebook is one of several rapidly growing and
evolving Internet giants that are presenting ongoing
challenges to privacy regulators around the globe.”

6. Social Media Court Cases in Canada
General Trends:
• Blurring the divide between public
and private life.
• The more friends/fans you have,
the less the “expectation of privacy”.
• Stretching the law to fit the social
media context.
• Focus on fairness.
• Courts are turning to international cases for
guidance.

7. Privacy in The United States
General Observations:
• US: No Privacy Framework in place
• FTC: Federal Agency Safeguarding
Consumer Privacy
• Internet’s “Implicit Bargain” = “Free”
Content in exchange for Marketing
• Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA)
• Industry Self Regulation / “Do Not
Track”

8. Social Media Cases
Consumer Deception/Privacy Risks
• Twitter (2010-2011)
• First FTC Social Media Case
• Charges: hackers gained unauthorized admin control
• Result:
• 20 yr ban on misleading consumers
• Info Security Program subject to audit for 10 yrs

9. Social Media Cases, Cont.
Consumer Deception/Privacy Risks
• Facebook (2011)
• Charges: deceived consumers about public availability of
private info
• Result:
• Bar on misrepresenting privacy and security
• Affirmative Consent Required for Privacy Overrides
• 30 Day access limit for deleted accounts
• Create & maintain comprehensive privacy program
• Third-party audits every 2 yrs for next 20 yrs

10. Social Media Cases, Cont.
Consumer Deception/Privacy Risks
• Data Breach Notification Laws
• Federal: Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA)
• State:
• www.ncsl.org provides a comprehensive state-by-state
list of data breach notification statutes
• CA: Consumers can request copy of a Web Site’s
Data Breach Notification Policy

11. New Developments and Path Forward
• Ongoing class action lawsuit against Facebook launched
in a Manitoba court claiming the social media site misled
users into letting their personal information be sold for a
profit.
• December 6, 2011 – OPCC released Guidelines for
online behavioural advertising.
• Coming into force soon – Canada’s new anti-spam
law, the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act
(“FISA”)
• Opt-in model for commercial electronic messages.
• New definitions for “family” and “personal”
relationships may pose cost implications for social
media marketers.

12. Privacy Trends in the U.S.
• Federal Privacy Legislation
• “Do Not Track” bill from Sen. John D Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
• “privacy bill of rights” from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and
John Kerry (D-Mass.)
• FTC Guidelines
• Online Behavioral Advertising Principals
• www.ftc.gov/os/2009/02/P085400behavadreport.pdf
• Industry Initiatives
• WOMMA http://womma.org/ethics/disclosure/

13. Summary
• Privacy Rights
• Will continue to evolve in the U.S.
• Will be subject to new federal (and possibly state)
regulation
• Action Items
• Develop a Social Media Policy
• Review/Update your Firm’s Privacy Policy
• Conduct Due Diligence on digital marketing partners
to understand how consumer information is: 1)
gathered, 2) stored, & 3) shared

14. Questions…?
Fazila Nurani, B.A.Sc.(E.Eng.), LL.B, CIPP/C
Senior Counsel and Lead Trainer
PrivaTech Consulting
Phone: 1-905-886-0751
Fax: 1-905-886-9974
_____________
David M. Adler | Leavens, Strand, Glover & Adler, LLC
203 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2550
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Direct: (866) 734-2568
Fax: (312) 275-7534
www.ecommerceattorney.com
@adlerlaw
dadler@lsglegal.com