Here is a model social media policy prepared by Stuart Fross, partner at

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Here is a model social media policy prepared by Stuart Fross, partner at"

Violet Benson
5 years ago
Views:

1 The Socially Savvy Advisor: Compliant Social Media for the Financial Industry, First Edition. Jennifer Openshaw, Stuart Fross, and Amy McIlwain by Jennifer Openshaw. Published 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. APPENDIX Sample Social Media Policy Here is a model social media policy prepared by Stuart Fross, partner at Foley & Lardner LLC. Foley & Lardner, LLC Use of Social Media Policies and Procedures 1. Statement of Policy The Advisor s use of social media is governed by this policy. Social Media is defined as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, as well as Internet blogs and other interactive forums. Any use of social media by the Advisor: Must be accurate and not fraudulent, deceptive, manipulative, or misleading, Must not omit to state material information, Must comply with all internal guidelines and applicable rules associated with advertising, Must comply with this policy, and Must be reviewed prior to use by the Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) or his/her designee. The Advisor s use of social media shall be governed by and employees shall comply with the following compliance policies and procedures: A. Advisor Accounts. The Advisor may establish its own social media accounts with the prior approval of the CCO. The approved social media sites are as set forth in Exhibit 1. The Advisor will allow only the individuals specified in Exhibit 2 to post information on its behalf to social media. B. Personal Sites Prohibited from Business Uses. No personal social media account or web page may be maintained by an individual employee for 297

2 298 APPENDIX: SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY any business use. A business use will be inferred from any reference to the Advisor, to any fund or investment strategy, except that an employee may list the Advisor as the employee s place of employment and contact details on a personal site (such as LinkedIn). This restriction does not apply to the maintenance of social media accounts or web pages for personal use outside the scope of employment that do not involve any business use. C. Type of information that can be posted. Any information posted on a social media website must be general in nature and must be informational in nature. D. Type of information that cannot be posted. The Advisor will not post recommendations for the purchase or sale of any investment: Posted content must not be targeted to a specific individual or group of individuals, and may not contain any recommendation or call to action. Posted content may not consist of investment advice. E. Product-specific information. Information about a product offered by the Advisor may be posted only as static content. All static content must be reviewed and approved prior to use in accordance with the procedures set forth below. F. Static content for the purposes of this social media policy is content which, once posted, cannot be altered, commented on within the page on which it is posted, or modified in any way by anyone other than the author. Specifically, this will include material posted on the physical portion of a social media website that does not allow for interactive, real-time communications, including comments or messaging. All static content is considered to be advertising and must be pre-approved by in accordance with the Advisor s advertising review policy. G. Interactive social media. The Advisor may participate in the real-time interactive portion of social media websites if supported by i. an approved access control mechanism, ii. a comprehensive recordkeeping capability, iii. a compliance review system, iv. capacity for the CCO to control who can delete postings, v. capacity for the CCO to delete postings, and vi. capacity to include appropriate disclaimers. Product-specific information may not be posted on the interactive portion of a social media website. H. Third-Party Postings. If the Advisor maintains a social networking website that allows for real-time interactive communications, the CCO (and

3 Appendix: Sample Social Media Policy 299 each person listed on Exhibit 2) must monitor third-party postings for possible client complaints (daily/weekly). a. Complaints. If the Advisor (or any personnel of the Advisor) detects a customer complaint through monitoring, the Advisor must follow its usual complaint procedures. b. Red Flags. If the third-party content contains red flags that suggest that the third-party content is misleading, or if the posting appears offensive or inappropriate, the content shall be removed. Each person listed on Exhibit 2 shall monitor third-party postings at least weekly and shall alert the CCO to red flags. The CCO (or an officer of the Advisor working at the CCO s direction) shall monitor the site for complaints and red flags as noted above. c. Adoption or Endorsement of Third-Party Postings Prohibited. The Advisor does not permit any activity by its employees that would amount to adopting third-party content or endorsing it. The following specific activities are prohibited by any employee: i. assisting in the preparation of content for any third party; ii. requesting a third party to post content; iii. paying for the production or posting of content; iv. endorsing the content through other posts (e.g., liking the content); v. endorsing the content of a third party by including it in one of the employee s posts; vi. forwarding or re-posting third-party content; and, vii. incorporating third-party content into the Advisor s content. 2. Who is Responsible for Implementing this Policy? The CCO is responsible for implementing and monitoring this policy and for reviewing and approving all materials to be utilized in social media to ensure the materials are consistent with the Advisor s internal guidelines and applicable regulatory requirements. The [insert name] (the Department ) is responsible for maintaining, as part of the Advisor s books and records, copies of all social media materials including all backup documentation and a record of reviews and approvals in accordance with the Advisor s Recordkeeping Policy. 3. Procedures to Implement this Policy Social media materials and communications will generally be prepared by or under the supervision of the Department. The key elements of the procedures are summarized below: All advertisements and promotional materials must be reviewed and approved by the CCO prior to use.

4 300 APPENDIX: SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY Each employee that is authorized to post information on a social media site on behalf of the Advisor is responsible for ensuring that the CCO has expressly approved any static social media material used in writing. Any modification to previously approved materials must be re-submitted to the CCO for re-approval. The Department is responsible for maintaining copies of any social media materials, including backup documentation and any reviews and approvals, for at least six years following the last time any material is disseminated. The CCO shall maintain, as Exhibit 2 to this policy, a list of those individuals that are permitted to post information to social media websites on behalf of the Advisor. This list shall be approved and dated by the CCO. This list shall also designate the individuals that are permitted to participate in any interactive portions of social media websites on behalf of the Advisor. 4. Pre-approval Process for Static Content Social Prior to disseminating any social media materials the CCO or his/her designee should review them in accordance with the following guidelines. The CCO or his/her designee may consult with the Advisor s outside counsel to resolve any uncertainty or novel issues about the application of these requirements to new social media materials. The CCO or his/her designee shall take the following steps: Assure that a copy of the social media material is maintained, along with any supporting records. The Advisor should maintain the advertising records in a manner so that they are readily available to the regulatory inspection staff. Review all materials for any false, misleading, or promissory statements or any omissions that make a statement misleading in the context in which made. Review materials for accuracy and to eliminate any prohibited content, including recommendations. Review materials relating to any product or service to determine if there is any required disclosure. Review the accuracy of any calculation of any performance data that is proposed to be submitted to the static portion of a social media website and confirm that the format and content of the performance data complies with the Advisor s advertising policies, including the policy on past specific recommendations. 5. Employees Authorized to Post Interactive Content

5 Appendix: Sample Social Media Policy 301 Each employee that is authorized to post interactive content shall have previously submitted advertising material for review by the CCO. The employee shall have complied with all advertising policies of the advisor. The employee shall not have been (warned or) sanctioned under the Advisor s compliance policies or procedures, including the Code of Ethics. The employee shall have met with the CCO and demonstrated familiarity with (i) this policy and (ii) the SEC s advertising rules. The employee shall have submitted proposed posts for review by the CCO which posts have met with the CCO s approval. The employee shall pre-clear his/her blog posts with the CCO until the CCO grants permission to cease pre-clearance. 6. Monitoring Interactive Content The CCO or his/her designee shall take the following steps: The CCO will institute a program of ongoing monitoring of the Advisor s social media postings, including any third-party responses to the Advisor s postings, by reviewing interactive content on the sites listed on Exhibit 1 at least weekly. The CCO will institute a program of periodic monitoring of employee social media sites for compliance with this policy. The Advisor may utilize the services of a third-party to monitor its social media postings and any third-party responses thereto. If the Advisor utilizes the services of a third party for monitoring purposes, the Advisor shall obtain a periodic certification attesting that the firm has conducted ongoing monitoring of the Advisor s use of social media and any thirdparty content posted in response thereto, for compliance with this policy and any findings of non-compliance. In response to any third-party postings (including Likes) in response to the Advisor s social media content, the CCO shall review the thirdparty postings to determine whether, in the opinion of the Advisor, such third-party postings might be considered a testimonial of the Advisor s social media content. If the Advisor determines that the third-party posting may contain testimonial material, the Advisor will remove the third-party posting and, if necessary, related Advisor content. The Advisor shall document all determinations taken in response to thirdparty postings. The Advisor shall obtain periodic certifications from all employees attesting that they did not post any information that is related to the Advisor or the Advisor s business to any website or in any interactive media.

6 302 APPENDIX: SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY I have read the Advisor s Use of Social Media Policy and understand the foregoing. I agree to abide by the restrictions on the use of social media by employees the Advisor as set forth in this Policy and understand that a violation of this Policy by me may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including monetary penalties, and termination of employment. Print name Signature Date Exhibit 1 List of Permitted Social Media Sites 1. Twitter 2. LinkedIn CCO Approved: Print Name: Date: Exhibit 2 List of Approved Persons 1. [insert name]will monitor third-party content on [insert name of site] (Approved/Not Approved to Post Interactive Content) CCO Approved: Print Name: Date: