Olshan’s Advertising, Marketing & Promotions Group helps clients optimize their social media engagement by taking advantage of activation opportunities, steering clear of compliance headaches and structuring promotions smartly.
With a nuanced understanding of social media, 
digital platforms and how long-established laws apply to new technologies, Olshan’s social media lawyers help clients structure social media campaigns and promotions on Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other popular social media sites that achieve their business objectives while minimizing the risk of legal repercussions. We have extensive experience counseling clients in the full scope of social media law, including:
- Advertising and content guidelines
- Regulatory compliance and defense
- Individual platform guidelines
- Promotions structure and development
- Terms of use
- Influencer agreements
- Intellectual property issues
- Dispute resolution and litigation
- International compliance issues
- Privacy policies and data security issues
Ensuring Crucial Compliance on Dual Levels
Each social media platform has its legal own guidelines, which are then layered by governmental regulatory laws. Such laws vary widely by jurisdiction. Add to that the increased attention paid by the FTC, SEC, National Advertising Division and other federal and state regulatory agencies to social media sites and commercial users, and you have a complex web of compliance needs. We work closely with clients to mitigate risk and ensure all individual platform guidelines and state and federal compliance obligations relating to advertising claims, endorsements, promotions, celebrity images, intellectual property use and leveraging of third-party user-generated content are clearly understood and met.
Olshan’s experience in this area includes all leading social media platforms, including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Reels), X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Twitch, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Structuring Campaigns and Brand Activations
With broad experience in social media advisory and transactional matters, we guide clients in correctly structuring their valuable social media campaigns from the outset. Our group handles all advisory needs and commercial transactions, including licensing, product terms and conditions, agreements, submission rights, content issues, and use during and after campaigns, sweepstakes and contests structuring, advertising clearance, and copyright and trademark use and protection. We have structured impressive deals for endorsements and sponsorships with leading athletes, celebrities and other social media influencers, and secured the complex media rights packages that underpin these transactions.
Dispute Resolution and Litigation
With an intensified focus by both consumers and regulatory bodies, social media marketers and online retailers are contending with an increase in private-party and regulatory agency lawsuits. From competitor disputes and class action defense to regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and technology disputes, we bring unparalleled experience in state and federal court litigation, in defending clients before regulatory bodies and in resolving matters in alternative dispute resolution forums.
Staying a Step Ahead
As platform rules and federal and state laws and regulations constantly evolve, we stay abreast of the developments and work with our clients to ensure they are well-informed and compliant on all levels.
- Advising a leading brand activation agency on a daily basis in connection with its novel social media promotional marketing campaigns, including livestream events, user-generated content (UGC) contests, online scavenger hunts, and other brand activation promotions for high profile brands, sports leagues, and entertainment companies.
- Advised on legal compliance for high-profile social media promotions, including sports championship-related sweepstakes in which prizes were delivered by drones during halftime.
- Advising on social media marketing campaigns regarding advertising claims, disclosures and influencer guidelines.
- Enforced and defended intellectual property infringement actions on social media, including enforcing takedown requests to social media platforms for unauthorized use of clients’ intellectual property.
- Advising brands on legal compliance for social media engagements, including reposting, liking, sharing and user comments and reviews.
- Defended a Twitch livestreamer in connection with an FTC investigation of disclosure compliance.
