When running promotional contests in Canada, compliance tends to focus on the Competition Act, Criminal Code, privacy and ensuring that mandatory short rules and complete terms accurately reflect the promotion (and give maximum latitude to a contest promoter to take steps in the event an issue or contingency arises). While all of this is of course important and in many cases fairly straightforward, one aspect that can be overlooked is social media site rules (and another reason one size does not fit all in terms of contest rules and disclosure).
Like everything else in our increasingly digital and virtual world, contest promoters increasingly want to increase the reach of a promotion beyond the more conventional retail and Internet website forums to have their promotions posted, Tweeted, liked, shared, linked, forwarded and favourited, among other things, on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and through other social media platforms.
Many social media sites, however, including Facebook, Twitter and Google+ have both general terms of use that can apply to contests and promotions and specific rules that apply to contests and other types of promotions. Working on several contests recently involving social media gave a bit of a refresher, and so I thought a short post here was in order. So here goes.
Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, Pages Terms and Promotions Guidelines include a number of rules to be considered when using Facebook to administer or communicate a contest. For instance, Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, the terms of use governing its relationship with users, requires users to: (i) follow its Promotions Guidelines and other applicable laws when publicizing or offering any “contest, giveaway, or sweepstakes” on Facebook; (ii) follow certain rules when collecting user information (not collect user information without consent, state that Facebook is not collecting the information and include a privacy policy stating what information is being collected and how it will be used); and (iii) agree to follow Facebook’s Pages Terms when creating or administering Facebook pages, which include rules relating, among other things, to the collection of data and consent and notice requirements.
Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines set out rules for using Facebook to communicate or administer contests. “Administer” is defined broadly as any element of a promotion, including collecting entries, conducting a drawing, judging entries or notifying winners. The definition of “communication” is equally broad and means promoting, advertising or referencing a promotion in any way on Facebook (e.g., ads, on Facebook pages or Wall posts).
Some of Facebook’s key promotions rules include: (i) requiring promotions to be administered within Apps on Facebook.com (on a Canvas Page or Page App); (ii) including certain information (e.g., a release of Facebook by entrants, acknowledgment that the promotion is not sponsored/endorsed/affiliated by/with Facebook); (iii) limiting Facebook-feature related conditions for registration or entry (limited to only liking a page, checking into a Facebook Place or connecting to an organizer’s app.); (iv) not using Facebook features/functionality to register or enter (e.g., not automatically register/enter participants that like a page); (v) not using Facebook features/functionality (e.g., Like buttons) as contest voting mechanisms; and (vi) not notifying contest winners through Facebook (e.g., through Facebook messages, chat, or profile posts).
Google+’s Contests and Promotions Policy includes rules to not directly run contests, sweepstakes and other types of promotions (e.g., daily deals, coupons, etc.) on Google+, run a promotion that conflicts with other Google terms (including its Privacy Policy and Google+ Pages Additional Terms of Service) and, like Facebook, also includes restrictions on using Google+ features or functionality as a required part of a contest or promotion. Google+ also includes a user release and indemnity relating to liabilities relating to the use of Google+ for a promotion, violating Google’s terms of use or third party rights (including intellectual property and privacy).
Twitter’s Guidelines for Contests on Twitter are perhaps the least intrusive for contest promoters. They provide, among other things, that the creation of multiple accounts by users to enter a contest multiple times should be discouraged (recommending a contest rule against creating multiple accounts or be disqualified), highlight that posting duplicate or near duplicate links violates Twitter’s rules (apparently aimed at Tweeting contests and similar spam-type competitions) and recommending against using hashtags unrelated to the promoter or promotion. Perhaps not surprisingly, given that there is little room for including contest rules in only 140 characters, Twitter’s Guidelines for Contests are largely aimed at reducing the likelihood of spam or deception.
All in all, while lawyers tend to focus on “black letter” law such as the Competition Act, Criminal Code, the law of contract, and the like when vetting contests, marketers and promoters tend to focus (as they should) on brand and reputation. In this regard, considering social media site terms is one important step to ensure that a contest or other promotion does not backfire by turning buzz into page takedowns, complaints or negative PR.
For more about Canadian contest law see: Canadian Contest Law or visit Canadian Contest & Promotions Law.
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