UK Financial Regulators Issue New Guidelines on Blogging and Social Media
The UK’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently a new guidance on the use of blogs and social networking for securities firms, investment advisors and brokers. Regulatory Notice 10-06 establishes important responsibilities for securities firms, advising that they:
- retain records of communications made through social media sites
- consider adopting policies and procedures governing communications that promote specific investment products
- supervise electronic communications in a manner reasonably designed to ensure that they do not violate FINRA rules
- prohibit employees from engaging in business communications on social media websites that are not subject to the firm’s supervision
- screen third-party content on firm-sponsored blogs or social networking websites
The guidance is an advisory document intended to help securities firms establish their own social media policies and procedures. If FINRA codifies the guidance into a formal rule, it will then be able to enforce compliance and impose fines for any violations.
As this latest development shows, companies need to think about social media and ensure their policies maximize productive uses of the technology, while minimizing potential risks to the company.
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ABOUT
Jacqueline Klosek, Senior Counsel in the Business Law Department of Goodwin Procter LLP, is a frequent author and commentator on data privacy and security. You can email her at jacquelineklosek@gmail.com -
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