About 50 per cent of business Facebook pages are in breach of the Facebook guidelines and State laws and are running the risk of been ripped off the network.
Many major Aussie brands are running illegal competitions and promotions on their Facebook pages and it’s only a matter of time before they are torn down by the social media giant, warns social media law expert Jamie White.
“Facebook is clear that you cannot run a competition or promotion unless you use a third party app,” explains Mr White from Pod Legal. “Basically they don’t want you to use any of the functions of Facebook – likes, shares, tagging, wall posts and so on – to run a competition or promotion.
“Some brands and agencies aren’t fully aware of these rules, and many smaller businesses aren’t aware of State by State legislation around competitions which, if they aren’t followed, could result in financial penalties.”
In 2011, Facebook took down pages belonging to FCUK, Cadbury and also Pizza Hut in India, and according to Mr White even if Aussie companies comply with State laws, breaking Facebook rules could result in a major headache and the loss of the company page.
“Facebook has already taken down pages that broke the regulations in the US,” said Mr White. “And if your page is taken down it can be a big problem to re-build your social media community again.”
While Facebook has its own stringent rules about how competitions and promos are run, each State of Australia has its own strict laws including the need to require permits for some competitions.
Each State has its own laws around "games of chance", for example, inviting Facebook followers to press "like" to enter a draw, and games of skill – such as asking them to send in a photograph or answer questions to win.
“If you want to run a game of chance, then you may need to get a permit from each State," Mr White explains. “I am always surprised at the number of promotions and competitions you see on social networks from businesses who clearly think ‘real world’ laws don’t apply to the world of social media.”
Mr White went on to explain that "Games of chance" should have permits displayed if they accept entries from NSW or ACT, whereas they don’t require a permit in Tasmania, WA or Queensland. You only require a permit in NT under special circumstances and in SA and Victoria, you only require a permit for competitions of a certain value.
And it’s not just Facebook.
“Every social media network has rules and regulations but so few people actually bother to read or follow them – which means your business could be running the risk of suddenly disappearing from networks.”
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