Social Media Data Restrictions

Social media data is increasingly becoming an invaluable asset for marketing teams, and businesses. But London-based law firm Kemp Little warns that restrictions on use of social media data are becoming an “elephant in the room,” because so few people are aware of their legal obligations when it comes to handling this kind of data.

Social media data applies to any information generated in connection with social activities online. This could be name/age/gender/religion data, location data (where a person is at a given time), interaction data (friendship groups/level of activity/engagement), or preferences (interests/buying habits/opinions).

You obtain data from social channels, with which they can gain aggregated insights about customers or target groups. In this case the data cannot be linked back to any particular individuals for targeting purposes. In other cases, user data is obtained directly from social networks such as Facebook – through apps,  brand page metrics, registration through Facebook Connect, or plugins (such as the Facebook 'Like' button). Most social media companies attempt to deal with these issues in their terms and conditions.

 Kemp Little recommends that any company that is planning to extend their use of social media data should keep the legal department in the loop and ensure that social media data is kept separate from other data. They should not rely on developers or agencies to stick within the rules, because the people developing the applications tend to be focused on providing the best functionality, rather than ensuring compliance with legal regulations.