Facebook: Not Just For Friends?

The Obama Administration is considering sending federal officers undercover on Facebook and other popular social networking sites. This effort raises a number of interesting questions, some legal, some not. For example, would the feds work with Facebook, or simply register, and silently patrol the social network looking for leads? If they went with the cooperative approach, just how much help could Facebook provide given its privacy policy and terms of use? Would it unlock the kingdom based upon an informal request, or would it require a subpoena or search warrant to comply? And, if the government decided to slip into the system without alerting Facebook, would it be required to follow Facebook's terms of use -- such as providing real names and contact information? What are the consequences if a person "tricks" someone into being their friend?

A confidential Department of Justice presentation obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation sheds some light on these issues, and also provides useful guidance in the crafting of privacy policies and terms of use by eCommerce companies, including those who provide social networks or online communities.

Thoughts from the NEMOA Spring Conference: Perils for Vendors from Affiliate Endorsements

Today was Day 3 of the New England Mail Order Association Spring Conference in Boston. It was a great conference with lots of opportunities for benchmarking and networking. A number of industry gurus were present, including George Michie from The Rimm-Kaufman Group, who gave a great talk on paid search issues that this lawyer found compelling.

Marty Eisenstein and I moderated a round table discussion on emerging online affiliate issues. There was quite a bit of interest in new FTC guidelines regarding testimonials and endorsements. These new guidelines have the potential to impact seriously a number of business practices that are quite common among reputable online merchants.